Everet Smith
Why are you hurting me?
I am everything you see, smell, hear, taste, and touch. I am the air you breathe and the water you drink. I am your far away and your true home. I am quite literally everything to you, just as you are everything and more to me.
Why are you hurting me?
I have given you all I have to offer. I have given you grassy hills to roll down in your youthful bliss. I have given you flowers to pick and share with your most treasured friends. I have given you snowflakes for you to catch on your tongue and make you giggle. I have given you what you need to flourish, even though I have begun to wilt.
Why are you hurting me?
I have seen you from the moment you, my beloved creation, stepped onto my beautiful Earth. I have seen you grow and wither. I have seen you succeed and fail. I have seen you fly and fall. I have seen who you have been and who you have become. I have seen who you are as a whole, and for that I love you dearly, even though I find it difficult to know if you love me.
Why are you hurting me?
I feel myself heating up as you release carbon into my air. I feel myself grow sick as you pollute my waters and my skies. I feel myself grieve for my pure-hearted creatures as they pay the price for your mistakes. And lastly, I feel myself mourn for you, my child, for you will not be spared the effects of my suffering.
Why are you hurting me?
And what are you going to do to stop?
Everet is a freshman at the Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Arts, where she majors in literary arts. She is fifteen years old and enjoys all things writing, especially long works of fiction.
- SLV 2023 Table of Contents
- Voices of the Valley – Alphabetic List of Authors
- Sustainable Lehigh Valley booklet
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