Charbroiling Towards Extinction

The speed with which

the planet’s lungs 

are being intentionally 

cut and burned

makes me wonder

how many years

my kids have

before the planet

collapses under

the heavy, greedy,

oblivious shoes

of humanity

Makes me wonder 

which animals

are feeling the flames

on their fleeing backs,

whose homes were

just today destroyed,

and which species

we’ve bumped 

to the front of the line

in the endless 

procession

towards extinction 

Makes me wonder

how much longer

you’ll take your beef

charbroiled on

the flames of 

global warming 

and whether you 

will even notice 

the rising heat 

of the water 

before it 

boils us alive

Written August 25, 2019