The Alarm Is Set Poem by Ian Ayres

It is 4: 13 a.m. I’ve awakened
On the brink of World War III
This pain in my gut could be cancer
Could be gas could be mass extinction
Setting in getting centered having entered
Through my brains what scientists say
Unanimous the gig is up there’ll be
No more new slang no more history
To claim historic awakenings

They—They say, “We have entered
A period of mass extinction
Not seen since the age of the dinosaurs,
An emerging global crisis that could have
Disastrous effects on our future food supplies,
Our search for new medicines, and on
The water we drink and the air we breathe.”
They say, “Humans are still destroying
Biodiversity at an unprecedented rate.”

I’m among the rich indifferent to the light
Bulbs I burn—each with a switch I flick
Casting my vote on and off for extinction
The faith I cling to a mere block of ice
Containing car exhaust and ozone
A polar cap melting into polluted air
Conditioning has made money my god
Defined by the corporations I buy into
I wear myself like a billboard