No vaccine for climate change
not the environment
If climate change was COVID-19 artisan miners and polluters would not partake wines and whisks
Laugh with mouths covered, while steaming the environment with lemons, ginger, garlic and steam while drinking zumbani/ umsuzwane tea (Lippia Javanica)
If climate change was COVID-19 rich nations would be made to stay indoors
Counting the costs of their arrogance, attitudes, behaviours and deceptions
Carbon sinners would at least listen and not hear
No marginalisation of the poor but valuing the poor’s indigenous knowledge systems (IKS)
Carbon emitting companies would close, lockdown, downsize and pollute for two days a week, weakening their economies
If climate change was COVID-19, road transporters would need letters from the police with no one policing the police
Workshops and conferences would be banned and turned into non-lucrative virtual
Schools would be closed, replaced by non-existent online learning and misinformation
Carbon sinners’ footprints would continue to observe social distancing
Words would also communicate changes in climate change, meaning what they mean
If climate change was COVID-19, the world would carve 21st century habitual liars
Strangers to the truth, the Goebbels of this era, COVID-19 this, COVID-19 that, established liars
The environment would be given the chance to grow without hiding behind COVID-19.
With all the lies gone with COVID-19, one wonders if the world will have anything more to say
If climate change was COVID-19, countries would respect their environment.
As every branch, bush, shrub, root, leaves would treat ailments.
Climate change would not attract denialists and treated as fiction
Climate change has not created humour like COVID-19 in the midst of the pandemic.
Unlike climate change which carved arrogant leaders, COVID-19 made leaders humble
If climate change was COVID-19, forests would not be stripped to nakedness and barreness
While rivers would be drunk with wastes, toxins and sediments
The culture of pollution would not overcome the culture of reason
With miserable barren, thirsty and cracked earth, yelling for a drop of rain
The earth’s skin would not be weary, sickling and barren, but vaccines would come handy
If climate change was COVID-19, forests would not pay for the sins of carbon emitters and greed
Greeted by vicious, violent and destructive floods of many names
Cyclone Japhet, Idai, Eline, as if there were children born to violent parents
The imperfect cycle now the new normal, subverting the perfect earth
If climate was COVID-19, it would be the most feared and spoken phrase
If climate change was COVID-19, this wishful wish list would prevail.
Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his personal capacity and can be accessed on: petrovmoyt@gmail.com.