LONDON WHALE AND THE FUTURE OF MAN



Man:

Do not weep for me,

But weep for yourself that are endangered

In this compact planet,

You have harried the forests

And frittered the rocks;

You have burrowed the mountains

And scattered the hills for treasures;

You have disturbed the tranquil of the deep sea

And polluted the atmosphere

And excavated the secret chambers of the ocean.

Prodigal child, you have plundered the flora

And prey on the fauna

But when will you be wise?

 

Would you rather keep faith with Kyoto

Or shed crocodile tears for me?

And do you now drag your infants to the Thames

In cold winter weeping for me?

Do you now defy the cold in hypocrisy?

Lining the walls and embarkment just to have a glimpse of me?

Would you rather save a whale

Than save the whole planet from the Armageddon?

But better that Kyoto is honoured than I’m honoured.

Ah, man!

You have so soon forgotten how many bills and policies

You have killed in parliaments and conferences

All you hypocrites, do not weep for me,

But weep for your folly.

 

O man, did you think I strayed?

I came to warn you and then die

My struggles in the Thames

Are your struggles on the planet

Though I was washed ashore,

You shall be washed inshore, sooner or later,

Artic will further melt and Katrina will come again

And the hurricanes will return in deadlier furies

The sun will give up its light

And the moon will fall and crash to the earth

And the stars will cease to sparkle

And it will all be darkness around you

And the waters will wash you inshore.

 

Where, where then are you going to run to?

Trapped, trapped are you in this enclosed space,

O man, everlasting prisoner in this hellish realm

Do you weep for me?

Don’t, but weep for yourself that are endangered

Though I struggled against the current of the Thames

You shall struggle yet more

Against many merciless tides, more severe,

Ah! Deadlier and worse than Tsunami and Katrina

Therefore, do not weep for me, but weep for your future.

 

  • JOHN ODEY ADUMA, DECEMBER 22, 2006.

 

 

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