1413
watch and act
the numbers
roughing in
a little
poem of hard facts
if our coal
doesn’t
someone
else’s will
kill, I
mean
creatures
flee the forest
everyone’s
behaving strangely
might as
well rake in
imagine
there isn’t any global warming
scientists fancied
it
like smoke –
what is it really?
they’re
only other animals
some things
really are nothing at all
some
nothings really are things
let’s put
that in perspective
ignorance
is best defence
possession
is nine tenths
is it only
four and a half million
who die
from air pollution every year
or is it
seven million?
people, I
mean
the WHO
figures confuse me
feed the
fire and will it stay away?
throw
crumbs
dance
around it
will you
who knows?
better just
watch and
act
no need to
hyperventilate
go shrill
take a pill
how can
smoke be a thing?
rake in
Priestley
may have discovered oxygen in 1774
but Empedocles
proved the existence of air
all thumb
and bubbles
apocrypha
fake news
of old
we’re only
the world’s biggest supplier of coal
we only
make up 30% of world supply
a mere
thirty per cent
why get
worked up about it?
when we can
all rake in?
there is
the sudden popularity of the birdbath
blue wren,
bower bird
everyone
visits
Newcastle
is only the world’s biggest coalport
keep your
shirt on
our biggest
export
wallabies
for dawn
smoke rise
they say a
rake is essential firefighting equipment
how many
civilians died in our Afghanistan and Iraq invasions?
so far
away, how could it matter?
and why did
we go there?
why are
some people pissed off with us?
37,800
people work in coalmining in this country
less than
2% of the workforce
more of us
in arts and entertain you
what would
the Bureau of Statistics know?
numbers with
questions
I’ve never
seen a kookaburra take the slightest sip
there’s
nothing to dive for
right now
how many
fires are out of control?
how many
governments?
how far are
they away?
numbers are
changing all the time
and numbers
are in dispute
I’m not
doing all the work
you’ll have
to look up some numbers yourself
but I can
give you a few
let’s
compare underemployment
take a peak
under the poverty line
then again
there are deaths in custody
life
expectancy differences
are you
with me here?
keeping up?
rake it all
in
maybe only
half of the air pollution deaths are down to coal
that means
the Australian stuff is only killing
just a few
more than 100,000 people a year
a drop in
the ocean
which might
not even be rising after all
just a
thing experts imagine, predict, observe
they’re
only other humans
let’s put
that in perspective
it’s about the
same as the road toll in China
it’s about
the same as China’s death toll from industrial accidents
anyway,
they’re other people and they’re somewhere else
how’s my
blood pressure going?
how’s yours?
cholesterol
as well?
just a
hundred thousand!
ignorance
is best defence
possession
is nine tenths
have we got
the numbers on the floor?
round em’
up
count them
to sleep
how much
are those oceans really rising?
I mean
because they’re probably not
how much
hotter actually is it?
thanks very
much
not at all
not at all
only 3000
people die from air pollution in Australia each year
a mere 3000
I should say
hardly
keeps up with the road toll
well
actually it’s a long way ahead
but who’s
counting?
only 1.35
million people died on the world’s roads last year
you don’t
want to get rid of your car
one point
six trillion on military spending
that was in
2016
I hesitate
to say the world spends…
because the
planet itself does no such thing
angels and
ministers of grace defend us!
but please
try to imagine six trillion
thirty
billion a year to end global hunger
since 1971
eighteen people have died from terrorist attacks on Australian soil
(six of
them were the perpetrators)
have you
noticed the hourglass?
more and
more of them about
Empedocles
did it with a clepsydra
how they
measured time back then
and that
was a while back
you run the
numbers!
how many
dictatorships today?
how many
more than last year?
who’s
funding them?
how many
lies has Trump tweeted today
keep
raking, keep raking, keep raking it in
trust
things to keep standing
because
they once did
graphs
still point up
we can
stake
for the low
hung fruit
only two
hundred homes gone in the fires
that’s so
far this season
nothing!
only three
dead
look how they
voted
how many
animals do we kill and eat each year
70 billion,
not counting the fish
(fish are
so hard to count)
quite a
small number considering the seven billion of us
humans I
mean
you see how
it’s all done with numbers?
they’re
magic
some are
sacred
some are
irrational
still we’re
counting on them
fingers,
toes, claws
how many
koalas down?
how many
are left?
how long
until last koala?
how much
more unsafe are we now exactly?
will we be?
it would
only be an approximate figure
can’t
really measure these things, can we?
and if we
can’t measure them
then why
worry?
how many of
them died in our war?
feed the
fire to keep it at bay
how many
species gone this week?
how many
languages extinct?
who’s
counting?
do we know
how to count?
whose figures
should we trust?
perhaps I should
teach about numbers?
poets aren’t
very good at this sort of thing
but
somebody has to count
how much
holier than thou am I?
how much of
a hypocrite too?
we can only
give you rough figures for that
if we keep
going at the current rate
our coal
will run out in 2130
(a mere
hundred and ten years…
how much
damage could it do?)
of course
our days are numbered too
ye know not
the hour and all that
how much to
fix global warming?
sorry,
forgot, it isn’t a thing
like every
god you cannot see
everyone’s
behaving strangely
creatures
flee the forest
if our coal
doesn’t
someone
else’s will
kill, I
mean
though
there are the five billion years
but I think
that’s a very rough estimate
as I said
before
we’re not
good with numbers
hard to get
past fingers and toes
still, fine
to stand up and be counted
the main
thing is to watch and act
you can
even do it in a poem
just don’t
get all agitated
move along
take a deep
breath
nothing to
see here
Super... have the perfect painting for this...
ReplyDeletebring it on, Jeffree!
ReplyDelete