This poem by  Emma Mary Hulonce was inspired by her guilt over the state of the environment. Illustration by Ciaran Murphy.

Oh my darling –
how I have broken your heart,

I have bruised your skin
cut down to your veins,
crushed your soul

for the food on my plate.

My sweetheart-
I adore your beauty,

I’ll bask in your glory
while I burn out your features,
and poison your bedding,

so I can fly like a laughing owl.

To my poppet –
I truly believe in us,

like a distant dream though,
a doomed romance destroyed by one of us,
and I’ll write you love letters

on your torn apart carcass.

Oh my baby-
I have given up.

So, I’ll leave it to our children
to save this world
and steal their innocence

to absolve myself of guilt.

 

This poem appeared in The Earth Issue of Popshot.

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