by Everet Smith
The Earth is dying, and so are its children.
It is up to us, the next generation, to save it
To fix centuries of mistreatment of Mother Nature
I don’t have my driver’s license.
The shovel is the screaming of desperate husks
The soon-dead sabotaging life for newly born
I lay in my dirt tomb, no colder than their souls
Wasting away as they waste their breath
The greatest generation has sealed my coffin
They disintegrate any hopes of salvation
Spouting nonsense as I struggle to focus
As I’m trying to perfect my obituary.
They’ve had decades to prepare for what happens after
I find myself wondering what god I should run to
I’ll find out when I’m buried on our burning planet
Because the next generation is dying. Can’t you hear me?
We’re dying.
Don’t you care?
Everet Smith is a sophomore at the Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Arts, where she majors in literary arts. She is 16 years old and enjoys all things writing.
- SLV 2023 Table of Contents
- Voices of the Valley – Alphabetic List of Authors
- Sustainable Lehigh Valley booklet
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