Best Sciencecity Poems

What Price Progress

There once were hoards of fish in the sea
That laps our local shores
Then they built a Nuclear Power Plant
Now the fish are there no more,
As the Power Plant site increases in size
The fishermen’s livelihood heads for demise.

There once was a hive of industry
In the centre of our town
Then they built a couple of superstores
Now the heart of the city is running down,
With more and more superstores being proposed
Will city centre commerce draw to a close?

There used to be fields at the city’s edge
Where as kids we would spend all day
Then they built estates of affordable homes
With only their streets for the children to play,
As each new house gets its foundation
More land is stolen from the next generation.

There once was fuel in abundance
Which we used without thought or care
But emissions have thawed the ice caps
By causing ‘holes in the Ozone Layer’,
As the glacial landscape melts into the sea
Polar Circle wildlife will inevitably cease to be.

There has to be change with progress
As life irrevocably moves on
Perhaps now its time to pause and take stock
Before all that we take for granted is gone,
For what is our gain, is our children’s loss 
As progress continues, but who knows at what cost?