Global Recycling

From symphonies of sorting, to reflections in a sea of plastic, to recycled treasures of love letters to Mother Earth, the dance of three arrows and waste to wonder of earth's recycled voices, eight poets penned their inner creativity with insightful compositions, their thoughts of recycling and environmental conservation.

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OCEAN'S CRY

Oh, blue body of life, Azure, royal blue, turquoise, teal,

Color my life in blues, uplifting strife

From the midst of man's fall. Real,

Real in his prolific dumping of garbage in its depths, insouciant of consequences

On marine life, slowly disappearing into a cage

of fishing nets, plastic bags, oil spills, defaces

Defaces reefs, shores, schools of fish,

Extinguishing crustacean habitats,

Underwater algae beds where fish,

Multicolored of varying shapes and sizes

Sizes that help propel the flourishing

Ecosystems beneath man's watchful

eye who's still looking for expanding,

conquering territories for boastful

Boastful insecurities need to be

bolstered by their flashy vanity

Showing off their possessions, a creed

of avarice, capitalism, duplicity

Duplicity in dealing justly, meticulously

Working in protecting assets vanishing

Existence, as man only knows how to fully

Siphon resources without a care of destroying

Destroying access to them in a furor

of greed that' s only surpassed by

Pride's cataclysmic need to conquer

the unknown by debasing it as simple opposition, binary.

© MALAK KALMONI CHEHAB

Canada ***** EARTH'S DESTRUCTION

Tampering with nature's plans

Who do we think we are

Altering the world and its land

Just for the sake of our cars

Polluting the oceans and rivers

With all our toxic waste

Dumping without thinking

Causing chaos in our haste

Cutting down the forests

Making animal species extinct

What on earth are we doing

It's time to stop and think

It's time to save the planet

To help mother earth bloom

Time is of the essence

Do something to help soon.

© DONNA McCABE

UK

******

DANCE OF THE THREE ARROWS

motion finding itself in return:

three arrows, bent

at perfect thirds, chasing

their own tails, a continuum

of becoming and becoming again -

the way water rises

to cloud, falls to river,

returns to sea: no beginning,

no center holding. How

the world persists

in cycles, not cycles but spirals

that almost touch their origins.

See how matter

refuses conclusion,

transforms instead -

plastic bottles becoming jackets,

paper becoming paper again,

metal melting to take

new shapes: nothing

is ever truly gone, only

rearranged, redistributed

across this great economy

of molecules. The green arrows

turn and turn, inexhaustible,

like the first morning

spinning out of chaos,

like thought flowing back

into itself, reconsidering

What systems we devise

to imitate the earth's

patient recomposing:

death into life into death,

and in this dance

of the three arrows

we find not perfect circles

but the honest progression

of matter learning

to save itself

from our brief, wasteful

hands.

© CONCETTA PIPIA

U.S.

*****

GOGYOSHI: "LIFE DROWNED IN THE SEA OF PLASTIC"

Intrinsic nature of life is elastic

Forcefully it is made plastic

To cap it all, it's drowned in the sea of plastic

Stifled it, giving reflective calls to Humanity

Discard plasticity, embrace elasticity!

© SUBHASHCHANDRA ADHAV

India

*****

RECYCLED TREASURES: A LOVE LETTER TO MOTHER EARTH

Dear Mother Earth,

As I sit down on your humble lap of fragile love to write this, I'm overwhelmed with hues of gratitude from the rainbow you provided and your love to protect me in your hug by providing food, shelter and water. As words can never express just how much you mean to me, and how thankful I am for all you've done, I am trying to follow the path you showed us by safeguarding your treasures, wholeheartedly.

Mother, I have stopped wastage of water by recycling it through my garden. Even the organic waste has become manure for my plants. I want to treasure the water by sharing with everyone. I don't want to buy a car or even a scooter as I'll be adding extra pollution and there's wastage of petrol. I want to treasure the beauty of earth from earthquakes or landslides. I don't want to buy extra clothes, books of any accessories, unless really necessary. We want to treasure the plants and trees with animals.

I hate to see even a minute part of the earth turning into a dump yard and so I avoid buying new machines, mobile or TV. If I don't need one, our friendly security guard takes it happily. I cherish his happiness as a bonus.

Mother, many people are turning into vegetarians and even vegans. You'll be fortunate to see all your living beings living peacefully without fear of getting hurt or killed. The valuable living beings will be treasured for helping farmers with manures! Very soon, we'll treasure you by not greedily digging earth for petrol and diesel, as we started to depend on solar power.

Good news! Ugly monster of humankind, the plastic, is also being recycled! As your daughter, I'll treasure you in my own humble way, meekly. You are my rock, my hero, and a guiding light through ups and downs. Please bless me to treasure your treasure trove by recycling wherever, whenever possible. If you suffer, we'll suffer, humankind will suffer! As a Mother Earth, please, please teach everyone about recycling the natural wealth through your love and care. Our family of the world wouldn't be where we are today without all the sacrifices you've made by tolerating our greedy, selfish and cruel nature!

Thanks for always helping me to remember what's important in life...and today, it's you, Mother Earth.

©SONAL RAO

India

*****

RECYCLING DAY: FROM WASTE TO WONDER

TO MOTHER EARTH

In factory

I will REDUCE

Reduce emissions by solar

Handcuffing pollution.

In landfill

I will RECYCLE

Recycle waste materials

To use for agriculture.

In house

I will REUSE

Reuse clothes into wash rags

To save cost.

In garage

I will REPAIR

Repair broken electronics

To extend lifespan.

In constitution

I will RETHINK

Rethink of a green policy

To combat ecocide.

© NYOK M. MARENG

Sudan

*****

A LOVE LETTER TO MOTHER EARTH

Thy deep forest cradles me in its bosom

I close my eyes in sacred stillness

While a hundred little robins huddle by

Chirpin' sweetly

In notes of ne'er forgotten lullabies.

Thy beaches span towards the horizon

To meet the clouds

Kissing the majestic skies

Ahh...let me roll against the sands

'Til I breathe no more.

'Til I close these eyes.

Thy bright sun glares in dawn break

Thy owl moon watches the weary night

Thy million stars over my head

Delightfully dot the grey skies.

Thy pinkish tangerine canvas, the Sunset,

Turns into a purplish blaze that is

Magnificently perched over the hills now

Yet gently, so gently away

Slips stealthily into the night.

Please don't stop loving me

My Mother Earth

Thy immense love Thou has

Is mine forever.

Ever grateful eternally

For cradling me in your arms.

© MARIA EVELYN QUILLA SOLETA

Philippines

*****

THE SYMPHONY OF SORTING

The symphony of sorting

comes from the choice of selecting

whether we love mother earth

who has a special say in our birth

We should be willing to choose

recycled paper and recycled books

making choices of walking near distance

which will help pollution to reduce

We should choose to use cloth bags

and completely avoid plastic

for marketing and daily use

we have a choice to sort and choose

Mother Earth is getting destroyed

with every passing day, we should make a choice

to live with the symphony of nature

completely stop nature's torture!

© ANU BUDHRANI

India