Remember Gujarat? Tidal mangroves were blocked
by bunds & embankments, Chinese MoU,
revenues from aluminium, polysilicon, animal feeds.
The Paris Climate, OECD delegates sipped their lattes,
declaiming coal dust, steam choking the fish,
bleached nuggets, burgeoning coral cemeteries.
We, with our winning smiles, tweeting environmental
charities, retweeting memes, protests, petitions, trending,
bracketed clauses in the draft agreement, spineless
politicians, Tourism Australia. Never mind Sir David
or Obama— we needed Murrawah, Amelia, Xiuhtezcatl
to sing the rewilding of grasslands, reefs, native title—
Who knew that Subrata Maity and Claude Alvares
defended the Mundra, or Mormugão Port in Goa from
pollution violations? The permits were not revoked.
When 10 per cent of robots lived in cities compliant
with WHO air quality guidelines, when the black
rhinoceros outnumbered the black-throated finch?
Nevertheless we sweltered, with news analysis full
blast, we dialled up air cons, we talked prophylactic
gene editing, from monkey to pig to Homo Saps.
We wrote dirges for the third world, prohibiting diesel
& motorcycle distributors, reversing neo-colonialism
with a corporate warrant to exhume the Galilee basin.
Everyone was abused; the state’s litigations, economic
futures, First nations, mind & memory’s quaint algorithms,
poems festering, composed in acid rain; volatile
in smog.