At night our pyre glows
with sudden flares
as tongues, ensnaring trees,
condemned
by us,
the virtuos wardens
turned to butchers,
hangmen and assassins;
we, the undertakers
watch our garden change
to ash,
while asking why
Champagne we share
is torched to vinegar.
Linked to dVerse Open Link Night
Also linking to earhtweal
—
January 9, 2019
Running in the slow lane
The view from here ... Or here!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” — Albert Einstein
chronicling my quarter life crisis
Now we see through a glass, darkly
rejuvenatement - not retirement
words and scribble.
The Quantumverse
Poetry, haiku. Life, word play, puns, free verse
About fantastical places and other stuff
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Truly we have been, and are poor wardens and caretakers, but the blame for catastrophe is a global climatic pastiche; perhaps it’s not too late.
The image of ‘champagne’ being torched to vinegar puts me in the mind of unpredictability and danger. A timely write, Bjorn.
So relevant to our time Bjorn. I feel so sad for those torched trees and ashen garden, as well as for the poor animals.
Relevant, timely and very worrying, Björn, especially the lines:
‘we, the undertakers
watch our garden change
to ash,
while asking why
Champagne we share
is torched to vinegar.’
Absolutely agree, Kim
The lines that resonated with Kim also were the ones that spoke most to me. You captured the anger, waste and pure sadness I have felt listening to the news this week.
A very poignant write Björn, there continues to be a huge lack of understanding how the way we treat nature impacts us all.
And we wonder why the world is burning?
there is a slow burning despair in your poem too
Humankind’s epitaph. Too bad nobody will be left to read it.
As beautiful as a poem can be, given the subject matter. Those fires are horrible sights indeed.
Beautiful imagery Bjorn, ensnaring trees and champagne juxtaposed with vinegar. You have a real skill to expressing raw emotion poetically.
The title says it all. We seem bent on ignorance and self-destruction. (K)
We have been lousy caretakers, clumsy beings.
Great poem. So poignant for these times in so many ways. Well written.
The world is burning and we along with it.
I like the last two lines about champagne being torched to vinegar.
If everyone cared about this planet such nightmares might not have happened. So poignant.
Very timely, Björn
The “we” is critical to owning up where things are on Earth. We are the butchers and undertakers, complaining about the Champagne. Thanks for sharing this at earthweal.
Whoah. Very powerful.
Why indeed. This is supremely well-crafted, Bjorn, and concisely lists so much that is heart-breaking. Once we were the husbanders of Nature, and her worshipers–now we are her undertakers.
A relevant tombstone for humanity, would read: The species that crapped, in its own bed. As we peruse instant wealth, at the cost of the environment of the around us, and the other creatures that share this planet with us.
Great title. Powerful poem. I liked the way it ended with a new year toast turned sour.
kaykuala
A tragedy to see the likes of nature turn to ash threatening the orderly way of survival of living things
Hank
Wardens turned to butchers etc. – how true. Alas, these questions have no good answers.
The more your articles I read, the better your material receives.
Reading it had been a joy. I will definitely get back to this post the
way I do together with https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/essayservice.com.
The language is top notch. Thank you for covering such interesting topics and
doing this professionally. You’re really a terrific writer.