A Planet’s Tale: By Niyi Osundare

ONCE UPON A PLANET

(For Earth Day 2024)

The sky above our head is A ragged umbrella in need of a needle

The rain which leaks through the ruptureIs a cocktail of contending toxins

The cloud up there is a wet blanketDripping like a dirge upon a feverish earth

The birds fled several season agoWithout leaving a forwarding address

Prodigal saws have felled the joy Of flourishing forests

There is a twilight stanzaIn the song of the wind

Several seasons ago we sowed the WindThe Whirlwind is ripe for our heedless reaping

The Earth we used to knowIs once-upon-a-time

Niyi Osundare, one of Africa’s foremost poets and academics, is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of English, University of New Orleans.