Skyward Footprints
by Odin Roark

Ghostlike it gathers,
This once earth-hovering presence,
Rising in lock-step high above,
Amassing its density of might.

How innocent once,
This source of warmth and comfort.
We campfire this.
We stove-cook that.
Combusting its essence way back,
Giving Henry Ford a shout out,
Still echoing through each graying dawn.

Because status quo marches dissatisfied…

Flames became a contagion,
Partnering with envy,
Infecting 3rd world minds,
Into a diseased compliance.

“We too can burn our way
Into 1st world prominence.”

Village mind-sets became
Small town conversions,
Became city mutations,
Became global malignancy.

Higher and higher
Rises competition’s flotsam,
Merging greed with ambition,
Committing atmospheric genocide.

To listen carefully
Is to hear civilization’s nescience
Echoing faintly as it
Enriches the skyward footprints.

Such a war of ignorance
Knows not the consensus of science
Is but a first step
In the race to heal,
Before suffocation
Silences Nature’s willingness to forgive.