Bio
Rosa Arlotto graduated from U of T Erindale College in languages. She is the author of a novel, The Maestro and Margherita. Rosa has also published two books of poetry, Record of a Modern Heart and Flower of Poison by Publish America. Her works can often be found in an online quarterly magazine, Literary Heist. She is currently one of the organizers of the Artbar Poetry reading Series and a new member of TWC Co-op.
Trigger Warning
What things were all important in time when appearance mattered are opposite and threw off the shackle.
I use to laugh at the hysteria
When they had qualms of conscience
But on mornings that once throbbed
With a chorus of robins, doves, jays’ voices
There is no sound.
Heaven on earth is no more
Scientists warn us that birds, fish, plants
And mammals are all suffering a big decline.
Habitat change, pesticide
Water and air pollution and climate change
Are the biggest culprit.
It begins with us and now experts say.
It is necessary that the scattered birds return to the trees
Pop bottles and condoms don’t float in the water
And are buried in sand
That no more dead fish
Be carried ashore by waves.
In string when thawing snow use to snake
Down the wall
Now just dark forcing water
Flooding our continent..
It would be foolish to declare myself
An expert on such matters,
I feel useless
It is impossible to call out around
The danger
To convince the world that everything is not ok.
How shall we tell the little ones
What living on earth was like
When bushes don’t blossom
Anymore at the height of summer.
Already the children
Know nothing of butterflies and mosquitos invading our backyards
And when they look close at our eroded beaches
And no gulls along the shores to take wings
They are not going to forgive us.
What we have done jumbled for decades
The way we have been building our world
Live in, get our thrills,
Abusing mother nature,
We race our faces towards the sky
Neglecting what is happening before our very eyes.
We don’t see fueled by an energy
That will run us into an apocalypse
And will soon have us crying
“Is it all over? Is earth defeated?
Is it all over for our continent?
T blossom