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Oct 14
poem 10 comments
Fiona Ella

twelve years

i heard today
that they're saying there's only twelve years left
before global warming goes too far. 
twelve years. 
i'll only be twenty-seven. 
i don't want the world to end
when i'm twenty-seven. 
and i honestly don't know what to think. 
there's nothing so beguiling
as the power of denial. 
nothing like wrapping yourself up
in your won problems 
and consoling yourself with the thought
that twelve years is a long time. 
and indeed, 
there's nothing else i can do. 
i can do nothing to change this. 
sure, 
i can recycle,
and walk more, 
and think optimistic thoughts
but the only thing that that bolsters is my ego, 
my sense that i'm helping the world. 
i already do the first two of those things. 
it makes no difference. 
the people who could actually change this
don't, 
or don't do enough, 
or maybe it's just too late. 
and i don't know what to say, 
or what to think, 
i'm just so angry. 
i want to live my teenagehood. 
i want to write my screenplays 
and i don't want to live in a world where there's a significant chance i won't reach thirty,
that none of my friends will, 
and that's somehow okay. 
i'm angry because i want to deny it
until the next study comes out,
until 2030, 
until it's too late, 
and because i know it doesn't make a difference. 
i'm sure i don't understand everything. 
i'm sure we sophisticated humans could cling to the fringes of the earth
migrate north those of us who can
and grow corn in the northern wilds of canada
happily deaf to the people dying elsewhere. 
but having the future cast in such concrete uncertainty
frightens me. 
and that
makes me angry. 

sorry, i just kind of felt like i needed to vent, so i didn't do any research on the exact specifics. anyways. sorry to sound so apocalyptic. 
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Posted: 10.14.18
About the Author: Fiona Ella
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Discussion

Comments

  1. Reid
    Oct 16, 2018

    Thank you Fiona. Thank you! We hear you. Check out the Vote for Me project on the site today. This piece would be a great fit!

    YWP Executive Director
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  1. Fiona Ella
    Oct 16, 2018

    I will check out the challenge!

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  1. gg
    Oct 16, 2018

    Fiona Ella,

    While I will be a good deal older in 12 years, like 79, I, too, am angry. Angry that our leaders, the people "we" have chosen to represent us, are so small-minded, so self-centered, so ignorant, so closed-minded as to deny that there is a problem. Imagine any other President simply not saying a word at an exhaustive UN study warning us of a dire emergency. So thank you for this. And keep speaking out. Keep ranting. Keep working at it. gg

    YWP founder. Current work: Instagram, Mastodon and https://geoffreygevalt.com
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  1. Shall4everBeUnNamed
    Oct 16, 2018

    You know whats funny? I read this right after i wrote about the exact same topic and i fully agree.

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  1. LadyMidnight
    Oct 19, 2018

    This is a really powerful piece.
    It is important that people understand the things that are really happening in this world.

    "There is nothing to writing. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemmingway

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  1. Fiona Ella
    Nov 20, 2018

    I'm glad you agree. I'm not usually a very political or current-events-y person, but I felt like I had to write about this.

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  1. wondering about rain
    Oct 22, 2018

    I have to say that this makes me angry but not at you or this wonderful portrayal of your thoughts and feelings but that we as humanity have done this and come this far on our path of absolute narcissistic destruction. I love this planet and there is so much I love about humanity but so often I just wanna slap the heck out of everyone and say "snap out of it!". But please don't give up on your own path to fight against this complacency, keep doing everything you as an individual can even if it feels hopeless and even if its hard and not the easiest or most enjoyable. you are "the people who could actually change it", so are your parents and your friends in your neighbors. You can inspire so many and they in turn can inspire and educate others. Take your anger and fight

    11th grader
    "This too, shall pass"

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  1. Fiona Ella
    Nov 20, 2018

    I'm glad you agree. Thank you for your hope and ambition for this issue. The complacency really is difficult.

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  1. NiñaEstrella
    Nov 20, 2018

    I totally understand how you're feeling about this, and I don't what this to happen either.
    So just so you know, one time about 10 years ago scientists said polar bears were going to go extinct in seven years, but polar bears are still here right now. So there's hope!

    “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”
    ― Oscar Wilde

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  1. Fiona Ella
    Nov 20, 2018

    I'm glad you agree with me. I wish I could share your optimism for a surprisingly good outcome--we'll have to see what the future holds.

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