OPEN, CLOSE by Wela Midel-Bagsican
I open my eyes
The luminous blue skies dripping with sunshine
The crystal clear waters gleaming right before me
The pristine sand cradling my feet
Open
Stars brightly sprinkling with magic
Trees towering high, protecting you from whatever harm
Birds singing sweet hymns
Open
You are home
I am home
And Earth is our mother
The world is ours for the taking
The world is our playground
And man, did we play
I close my eyes
The sky haze wounding my nares
Yellow fumes flying around
A whiff of stench is all I can breathe
Close
Broken bottles, scorched plastics
Parched pieces of glass
Concrete clutching on to my feet
Oceans coughing up thick crude oil
Close
Trunks baring abuses
Birds no longer chirping
Sea life wailing and gasping for air outside the ocean
Wildlife missing, going extinct
Where are they now?
Destined for a slow terrible doom
Close
We all reek of an I-don’t-care aroma
Close
Mother Earth screams
Close
Her hands reach out for help
Close
Sands of time have yielded fear
Close
Haiti earthquake, over 200,000 dead
Close
Sumatra tsunami, more than 300,000 dead; millions missing
Close
Hurricane Katrina, 1,833 dead
Close
European heat wave, more than 70,000 dead
Close
Typhoon Yolanda, reportedly more than 10,000 dead
Close
California wildfires, millions of dead trees, thousands of lost homes
Close
Close
Why do we keep closing our eyes and covering our ears to the cries of Mother Earth?
Open
Open please
Open your eyes, open our eyes
Wake up to reality
Open
Reach out
Save a mother from dying in the hands of her children
No, someone else will not save it
We all are going to save it
We are each a drop but together we will form an ocean
Open
Artists, paint the blue skies it’s stunning beauty again
Crafters, recycle, reuse things into a marvel once more
Engineers and builders, design our world back to its former glory
Storytellers, tell us of the life-giving love of the place we call home
For our stories rise and drop with nature
Open or close
Which one do you choose?
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Performed for Greenpeace’s SHIP IT BACK: Plastic Ship Tour 2019 - CEBU. March 15, 2019.