Poem: The Ocean is Rising

A century or so of this ultra modern game
Built on lands stolen from long-term dwellers
Factories spewing, container ships moving
Stock markets shaking the earth
In the hands of cigar-toting fellers

My glass is three quarters full
Of salt water I dare not drink
Add a few ice cubes that soon melt
And overflow crosses the brink

We stand on a hill contemplating an ocean sunset
Dreamily watching wildlife pass by
Behind the scenes the north ice turns liquid
Adding death metal to our peaceful lullaby

My basement’s flooded
So is my neighbour’s
The town square is now a swimming pool
There’s no remedy for this
Neither magic wand or light sabre

Storm rolls in
Pushes waves into places never imagined
Buy a dinghy, canoe or hovercraft
This is no Mother Nature
Beauty pageant

We never thought our burning would swell the oceans
Or the seas would puff up at the sight of our smoke
“Anthro” morphed from creature to god
The watery audience booing the stage
Refusing to laugh at our joke

~ Gunnar Våken