! Planet Dearth Poem by Michael Shepherd

‘No other life form on the planet
knows negativity, but human ‘kind’..

No other life form on the planet
violates and poisons the Earth
that sustains it, but the human ‘race’..’

oh look, how unhappy that flower is!
how can we cheer it up?
and that oak tree – how stressed it looks!
how shall we help it to unwind?

out there, look, that dolphin
looks really depressed, I wonder
what we can do to raise its spirits?

and that frog – it seems to have
a problem with its self-esteem..
and no princesses handy…

pussy just can’t relax, doctor,
could you prescribe a pill, or
perhaps refer us to a pussychiatrist?

and how that tweetie-pie birdie
carries visible hatred and resentment
like a cage upon its back…
(was it watching Tom and Jerry yesterday..?)

the only animals that show anything of
these signs of neurotic behaviour
are, yes, those who live
close to human kind…

which animal do you take
for your teacher in the art
of living only in the present moment?

*

[with acknowledgements to the Blessed Eckhart Tolle]