The Tree that Held Up the Sky

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE

The Tree that Held Up the Sky

 

They plunged through the world

Like three fools who did not care

Let it fly! they told each other

Let it break and tear!

They lit a fire beneath a big broad oak

Just to see if it would burn

They fed the flames

That fueled the fire

(no, they did not learn)

They watched the flames grow higher

They laughed til they grew tired

They never thought

They never cared

They never questioned why

This was the very oak

That held up all the sky

 

They did not make connections

When the sky began to fall

They searched for someone different

On whom to blame it all

That one is dark and that one weird!

On this they all agreed

It was what they always feared

The others did the nasty deed

We cannot tell a lie!

They threw stones and made it bleed

Til it cracked the fragile sky!

 

A man came forth with weary eyes

And cast them on the three

You dare to speak of lies?

When it was you who burned the tree

That held up all the sky!

The fools looked at each other

And released a mighty sigh

You know us friends and brothers!

Even if we tried

We could not burn the tree

That holds up all the sky!

 

Of course it did not matter

For the sky came crashing down

And their foolish fate was sealed

When they hid on open ground