Precious Planet Earth

(COVID-19 Take 20)

Every better, smarter, faster age that’s dawning
Comes at a price and sometimes without apparent warning  
And as it attacks our lungs, hearts and minds ever faster
Spreading global disaster that could not be foreseen
What does it all mean? And what will it take to inspire us?
To see-off this evil 2020 vision-busting Covid-19 virus.

In truth, should we really be surprised?
Or is it to ourselves that for so long we have lied?
Because now the state of every nation is unwanted social isolation
It can only be the fault of the human race for self-isolating our interests in the very first place 
We turned mother nature into smother nature and now she’s fighting back
To restore the respect that we’ve continued to lack
We’ve relentlessly advanced the human condition
Until what keeps us running can’t keep up with our mission
We’ve violated, drained and squeezed natural resources
And mutated them into self-destructive forces

If we’re so ready to fight for gender and climate and black lives matter
Why do we batter ourselves into submission
In this greater war of attrition that scars the human condition?
Aided and abetted by many a short-sighted politician
Pouring fuel on their burning ambition
Putting the ugly greed of me
Before the natural needs of he, she and we 
Because when self-interest is what we truly cherish
Those we hold most dear will inevitably perish 
Through this relentless drive at all costs to thrive

It’s just the true symptoms showing 
Of the way humanity is going 
Countless poison aerosols of doom 
Spread by toxic airheads in many a key decision-making room
And the hard-of-thinking hardcore minority that bask
In their left-field right to be in your face and on your case without a mask    
Unkind replacing mankind 
Welfare that’s neither well nor fair
Leaving us vulnerable and ill at ease 
And sitting pretty for the taking by this latest ugly disease  
That steals souls by stealth 
Even those of front line heroes 
Guarding our health 

As we edge towards a world of confinement that everybody fears
Perhaps we should have confined ourselves to need and not greed all these years
It’s time to curb our natural bent 
It’s time to check our self-destructive ascent
Climb down from our progress-centred high horse
And reset our future earthly course
Back to the trees and hills and seas and ponds
Where in calmer, ancient days before this man-made malaise
We first came from

This is humanity’s final wake-up call
This is our one last chance
To heal the wounds
And slow the flow
Of the evil Covid advance
We gotta shout and rant and sing
About the fundamental value
Of doing the right thing
We gotta stick together
We gotta all prove our worth
As privileged passing guests
On this
Our precious planet earth

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Creature Comforts

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