Today’s poem

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT The passion for change is relentless, An obsession that’s got out of hand; I don’t want to seem like a Luddite But it’s high time we all made a stand.

Must we purchase each newfangled item Just because it is hot off the Press, Do we believe that buying non-stop Is really the best way to progress? The genie is out of the bottle But we can stop it running amok, For unless we try to control it We are in for an almighty shock.

We must not be under illusions About what global warning portends, For primeval forests are vital And upon what our planet depends.

I suspect it may now be the time To think about ditching the plastic, For if we believe all that is said We have to take action that’s drastic.

Bags, bottles and other old rubbish, Worn tyres and scrap metal galore, Discarded like flotsam and jetsam Until found on a faraway shore.

We have to stop dropping our litter And wake up to a problem that’s rife; To preserve this world from disaster We need to protect animal life.

We have endless scope for improvement In ways to recycle detritus, But unless they’re put into practice It will surely come back to bite us.

Recycling is far too important To be left to the radical few, It has to be done by all people And, of course, that includes me and you.

We need to rethink our behaviour If spending is no longer our God, To adapt to new ways of living And ignore those who say we are odd.

We can leave the car in the garage And sometimes go out for a walk, Use our public transport more often As it’s now time for action, not talk.

We must husband finite resources And not over-employ fossil fuels, But try to be far more creative With wind turbines for our renewals.

If we use our imaginations There is no end to what we’ll achieve But unless we do so damn quickly There will be nothing worthwhile to leave. John Slattery, Worthing, W. Sussex.