The heat is most certainly on,
scorched reason
making one last ditch bid
the burning issues to hold
a torch to, the debates
having been raging
for far too long,
position statements
repeated ad nauseum;
now with dwindling time,
there is a glimmer of hope
for pulling back from one step
away from doom, the naysayers
the hard-boiled deniers
losing the argument even further;
it is not just the mighty movers
of this humble
benighted earth who matter,
but also, the rank and file, the people
bearing the brunt of the crisis
for which to blame
may be the pioneers of progress
measured in pure material terms
with moral or spiritual subtexts,
those not at the forefront
reminding the pack leaders
of their failings in honouring
promises, while calamities
draw them ever close to extinction;
this time when the pulpits
are left vacant, the fears
and terrors of the impending apocalypse
will linger like fetid air, everywhere,
as will the stark images
of climate change driven blight,
edge-of-death thirst and hunger;
for a final time, intentions
and exhortations may not be pious
only, but in actions real, even if late.