I was sleeping when the power went off <br />Naturally I thought at first my heart had stopped <br />And that this was what death is like <br />Total silence and pitch darkness <br />But after regaining my wits about me, quickly <br />I realized what had actually happened <br />It was too hot with too many air conditioners running <br />There are too many people living in total comfort <br />While too many others in parts of the world suffered <br />We were all power gluttons and are going to be punished <br />For all the sins we had committed in the name of progress <br />Against the environment and our planet Mother Earth <br />While we slept in our beds, polar ice caps were melting <br />Polar bears and penguins were becoming extinct <br />Or at best only finding themselves homeless <br />Fish were being boiled in warm ocean waters <br />While drought and famine starved the many birds <br />It is all due to our greedy and avaricious nature <br />To serve only ourselves to the bounty of others <br />We failed miserably as the caretakers of our world <br />Then I heard the beep...beep...beep of the fire alert <br />And the electric clock resetting the correct time via satellite <br />The television blinked back on and Jay Leno <br />Was still doing his monolog without a laugh track <br />Something about the hypocrisy of politicians flying Net Jet <br />While the rest of us were being forced to ride a bike <br />Reducing our 'carbon footprint' on the world <br />By purchasing 'carbon credits' from poor refugees in Uganda <br />Ahhhh.....alas, I could go back to sleep in peace <br />Knowing at least I was not immediately going to suffer <br />I mean I don't mind doing my part to help <br />As long as I don't have to be uncomfortable.... <br /> <br />2007 © T Sheridan<br /><br />Ted Sheridan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/this-just-in-family-of-caribou-found-squashed-by-a-carbon-footprint/
