Climate Injustice

1

(The Cyclone)

 

An owl cries for her baby.

Dead body is found nowhere.

The storm again is a good

Killer of unborn dreams.

 

My father mourns for the tree.

The trunk lies on the ground,

Sleeps and soon will die.

 

He planted it years ago.

 

 

2

(The Wildfire)

 

Heaven now turns hell.

Wildfire burns the feathers

Of the parrot, now she crawls,

Crawls to breathe a little more,

 

Fire growls behind the tail.

Death waves before fatigued eyes,

Yet she hopes to live again.

 

 

3

(The Drought)

 

Sun is trying to burn

The scalps of my parents

In the paddy land.

They wonder if the sweat

Acted like the water.

 

A little white cloud turns

Into a canopy over their

Shoulders, but mother wants it

To be fierce and to pour in the land as rain.

 

 

4

(The Poverty)

 

Salt water strangles the crops,

Makes us starve and my

Old granny will die

Soon of hunger.

Author: Lovely Raju

Lovely Raju is originally from Bangladesh. He holds a BS in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from the University of Rajshahi. Seeking to nurture his poetic talents further, he pursued an MFA in creative writing from the University of Notre Dame. Raju has worked as an assistant editor at Action Books, an international press for poetry and translations. His interests include ecopoetry, social justice poetry, and dream poetry. His debut full-length poetry book, HOPE, is out now from the Finishing Line Press. His second full-length poetry collection, Inside Violence Violence Inside, is forthcoming from FlowerSong Press. You can find him on Instagram @poetry_poem_cares

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *