Anthropocene Labyrinth
Which way to turn, and what to do
What steps to take to puzzle through
The ills inflicted on this Earth
Each one diminishing its worth
Resources stripped until they’re gone
With waning hope each breaking dawn
Rain forests stripped of all that’s green
Incorporated greed, obscene
Pollutants pumped into the skies
We choke the seas, yet still they rise
Vile toxins dumped into our streams
Descending darkness in our dreams
When each new dawn reveals new blight
There seems no end to this long night
The darkness here within this maze
Increases with each passing day
This poem is my response to earthweal weekly challenge: ANTHROPOCENE LABYRINTH, where Ingrid says, “For this week’s challenge, let’s examine the possibility of rhyming, or perhaps even dancing our way out of the Anthropocene labyrinth.” I actually wrote this in iambic tetrameter, and we all know I’m not all that fond of rhyme or meter.
Shared with Open Link Night #300 September Live
Image source: Denver Museum of Nature and Science
rivrvlogr 
Ken, very good poetically – the rhyming is so smooth, seems to’ve come naturally! And I like your emphasis … “this long night” indeed … A couple months back I was in a museum that showed a full-wall-size chart of the different eras of planet earth. Humans are relative new-comers, and at the rate we’re going, our era will not be one of the longest!
As a Labyrinth advocate, I have to point out: you are referring to a maze (as reflected near end) not a labyrinth. Labyrinths have a single path with lots of turns and twists, but zero dead-ends or puzzles – the whole point of walking a labyrinth is to suspend thinking whereas a maze is designed to engage/test/strengthen thinking. Many use the terms interchangeably, and when following a prompt …
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Thanks, Jazz. Yes, in the prompt Ingrid points out the distinction. I’d actually considered “The challenge of this labyrinth” as the penultimate line, since it could narrowly fit the meter.
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But then you’d have to adjust for rhyming in next line …
It resonates well with the mix of words labyrinth & maze – even those of us with fixations about terminology still readily get this message about finding our way through the mess we’ve collectively created on our planet.
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☺️
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Rhyme / meter or no rhyme / meter, this is outstanding poetics. Well done, Bro.
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Thank you, sir. 🙂
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Yes Ken, increasing trapped in what feels like a self fulfilling spiral – which your strong piece illuminates so clearly.
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If only. Thanks, Scott.
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This is incredibly potent, Ken! It feels like the earth is spiraling backwards with each passing day, sigh .. we can only hope that its inhabitants come to their senses and take action before it’s too late. I loved hearing you read this on OLN Live tonight. 💝💝
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Thank you, Sanaa. 😀
And thank you for co-hosting OLN Live.
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Your live reading strengthened the impact, and the feeling of hopelessness. Tis a touch fo the Dark Ages we find ourselves in, it seems.
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Thanks, Glenn. Dark, indeed.
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There is certainly a sense in the Anthropocene that the maze has become a Gordian knot. There are clues but none of the paths have much appeal. We may not have any choice. Thanks for bringin’ it to earthweal – b
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Thank you, Brendan.
And thank you for a much-needed forum.
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Thanks for rivering your voice here..
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This was a poem to wander through, thank you, I enjoyed it.
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🙂 Thank you.
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Ken, the structure is symmetrical, which creates interesting tension with the theme. Good job!
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😀 Thank you!
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You are welcome!
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Well, you did a great job with the rhyme scheme. Even with the structure it creates anxiety. I find myself wondering how we will ever get out even though I know there is one way in and one way out.
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Thank you. That one way out is long overdue.
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I think the rhyme scheme works very well, a sort of echo of the labyrinthine downward spiral we are in at the moment.
‘Rain forests stripped of all that’s green
Incorporated greed, obscene’
These lines sum up how we got here, really. Let’s hope it’s not too late to find a way out. Thank you for sharing this, Ken!
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The rhythm works well. Like drums beating time.
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The drumbeat of an inexorable march. Thank you, Jane.
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The dizzying speed of your words is exactly how it feels. (K)
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Especially when you consider the short time in which Man has “accomplished” all that we face.
Thank you, Kerfe.
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I like the image that you hinted at of the seas rising to destroy those that have polluted it all these years.
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Thanks, John. When I wrote this, I thought of those carpets of plastic waste floating in our oceans.
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The rhyme and meter bring a sense of urgency to the situation, just as a drumbeat reminding us time is ticking!
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The Doomsday Clock takes on new meaning.
Thank you, Tricia.
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Writing is wonderful, and the rhyme is strong — excellent piece Ken! And I enjoyed hearing you read it. Even through some of the technical challenges, I so appreciate Bjorn for undertaking the endeavor to go “live”. I would love it once a week, but I understand the task that would represent..
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Thanks, Rob.
I really enjoy the Live sessions, as well. And yes, that would take quite a commitment for someone to host it weekly.
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I could not agree more with the message in this poem. And I love the metre and rhyme. Just lovely.
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🙂 Thank you.
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I just heard the recording! Outstanding rhymes and a very powerful write.
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🙂 Thank you.
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You are welcome.
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Wonderful rhyming — I bow to a master…….
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Thank you!
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Finally making my way reading and commenting… your reading was really good, and it is a sad state when it seems for every small step in the right way we take 100 steps in the wrong one.
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T
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Thanks, Björn. It’s a long road before us.
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