This was from an amazing Extinction Rebellion South-East London Rebel Rising Weekend 17-18 August 2019 Towards the Common with events in Greenwich and Blackheath. To begin the Die-In by the Polly Higgins Boat and outside the entrance to The National Maritime Museum Greenwich, on Sun 18 Aug, I was asked to read this poem "When They are Ripping up the Amazon". When they are ripping up the Amazon
and tearing trees from her limb to limb,
the Earth cries out: why did you give
such preposterous power to him?
To the brute boy with a thunder-machine
whose teeth like jagged jowls,
crunch and burn and smash me up
down into my very bowels?
When they are ripping up the Amazon
by half a billion trees a year,
deforestation to gain votes from a nation
that one day won’t even be here,
if they carry on, like a blank-blind gun
firing and firing up the forest into flames,
and all for just a mounting-up pile of paper, called money,
cheap illusory hoard,
over a competitive ego-game of running top lord
between men who are only grown-up boys,
but with now enormous and very dangerous toys.
When they are ripping up the Amazon
and there is nobody around to see,
with indigenous tribes being murdered
because they’re the only ones who will not agree,
while Western television is fixated
by Brexit and of Boris and Trump who have sat down and sated,
seized upon all of our airtime,
knowing full well they are wasting all of our time:
turn to angle-distract,
the ruling class have
got us pulled
off and away again
like that.
For while we are blind-thumbing into our iPhones,
they are free to play our freedom off into their own grand game of thrones,
but now the stakes are the very sweet air we breathe -
the Earth weeps, her shoulders grieve,
at the blackened, bare hot air the breath of their dragons leave,
while they carry on, to plunge, then frack and take and thieve.
So while they are ripping up the Amazon
for gold-mines and cattle farms for the big meat corporations,
with lack of leadership from western nations
to call to account
when who won’t doubt
that we all need palm oil for packaged food, for soap, and slinky shampoo,
where supermarkets and the greed market
are the only ones who’ll provide all that for you.
But,
when they used to grab up and harpoon huge gentle, great whales from the ocean,
they said if we stop this now how will you get
your cheap lipstick, your perfumes, your lovely soft lotion?
If you’re prepared to watch it all then disappear?
oh yep, they’ve argued on that same old bribe and fear
like a sick, stuck and broken record year after year,
you do not give your freedom to these moneyed, amoral men,
let us be clear.
So while they are ripping up the Amazon,
what can we say or do?
Protest, and join an organisation,
but at all costs -
just stay true to you.
If we keep each to our own, honest barefoot path
and don’t admit of their false compromise.
Seek to be aware of their lies,
don’t take them in,
but be your own deep forest
where the spirits can beat and breathe.
These trees are ancient, let their wisdom weave
around your ever-safe, your sacred soul,
they cannot break our whole.
If you would like to join in with events
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