Giles Dawnay is a GP and writer from Herefordshire. His website is www.gilesdawnay.com
In a poorly known car park
a drenched man fights
for his life. Years of consumption
have left his body on the brink.
A quiet wood nearby cools
all who walk beneath the canopy.
Humans have cut down so many
trees to live, fire creating fire.
He is still groaning. Blood, pressure
now rising, bottled oxygen hissing
as the sirens scream. Death avoided
or simply delayed, the furnace roars.
There were once too many trees,
their oxygen collapsed the ecology.
The loss of carbon, the loss of heat,
the beginning of life, as we know it.
His paperwork printed, handed over.
Evidence of an uncared-for ecosystem.
Sugar and excess are no one’s friends.
Tipping points never happen overnight.
The trees that are left stand patient.
How we need them and they need us.
A cool breeze wafts through the dapples,
if only we were all not so hungry.
Featured photo by Thomas Kinto on Unsplash
