The legacy

What a world we’re leaving—
�I want to apologize to every
�child I see. Yes, we baked it,
�poisoned it, gutted it, cooked

�

up new diseases from tropics,
�wet markets, arrogance. How
�can they ever forgive us,
�we who remember oceans

�

with live fish in them, gardens
�with butterflies and many birds,
�savannas with lions, jungles
�with tigers, elephant families.

�

We who could swim in clean
�rivers, who remember when
�hurricanes were occasional
�when summers were bearable

�

in cities. We didn’t care enough
�to leave you a livable world.
�We were just too busy buying
�and selling, polluting and burning.

�

We were just too greedy to care.

�

�