Speaking of Earth

My children speak of the Earth

in the language of hopelessness:

“No one will do anything anyway.”

“We should all ride horses,

replace cars. But no one listens.”

“Wal-Mart says they only use eco-friendly

products. But their light bulbs aren’t.”

“We don’t need any more houses.

Why can’t they just stop building?”

Mangy magazine pages and bread bags

claim our bony trees, last year’s

Robin’s eggs decay,

a deck peels five years of paint,

windows need replacing.

My children’s retro music

condenses on the glass:

“Oh we’re never gonna survive.”

Katherine Gotthardt