Limericks in the Face of Climate Change

A big part of my mission as a poet and a limericist has been to change the way people think about limericks. Rather than chasing the tail of endless innuendo, my limericks bark up a different tree. They heel towards the esoteric and roll over though the metaphysical. And I hope my old doggerel can still learn a few new tricks.

Far more important than how people think about limericks are what we are thinking and doing about Climate Change. As awareness inches forward at a glacial pace, meaningful action still lags prehistorically behind. So this week’s series of limericks is dedicated to increasing consciousness and inspiring more responsible measures and behaviors. With cheerfully rhyming limericks, I try to maintain some sense of hope, while also realizing that we may have already turned the catastrophic corner of mass extinction.

      Baby Steps
      It’s time we switched over to solar
      If not for the bears we call polar
                  Then think how the heating
                  Discourages breeding
      It’s no longer safe for a stroller

      Consumption be done about it?
      The lungs of our planet are gasping
      The forests don’t seem to be lasting
                  It’s hard to keep calm
                  As they clearcut for palm
      So before you eat Nestlé try fasting

      Up With Bamboo
      There’s a grass with some vast versatility
      And none can surpass its ability
                  Her growth rate’s astonishing
                  Meanwhile admonishing
      Fossil fuels into futility

 

      Shots and Prayers
      We long to conjoin at the nexus
      In search of the force that connects us
                  Compassion’s the way
                  But you might have to pray
      Cuz they’re stockpiling ammo in Texas

      Single Use Abuse
      To make every seashore fantastic
      We need to perform something drastic
                  Like pass a few laws
                  To prohibit the straws
      That keep us all sucking on plastic

      Keystone Flops
      There’s a pipeline that must be reviewed
      Moving billions of barrels of crude
                  But energy magnates
                  Claim industry stagnates
      Unless the whole prairie gets screwed

      Present and Accountable
      Unless we find ways more sustainable
      The future will not be attainable
                  And children will ask
                  Were we up to the task?
      But our actions will not be explainable

 

Further Reading

If you enjoyed these thought-provoking, environmentally-sensitive limericks, please consider purchasing one of my books or subscribing to the blog. You might also want to check out some of these popular articles:

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