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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