PLANET
ENDANGERED
M.G.N. MURTHY
Jewel celestial in cosmic space,
Unique sphere with snowy mounts,
Valleys verdant, hoary hills,
Sylvan slopes and sparkling rills,
Shimmering lakes and limpid streams,
Endless expanse of oceans blue,
Surf-washed shores, golden sands
And beaches fringed with swinging palms,
Miles and miles of waving fields,
Evergreen woods swaying in the breeze,
Teeming with birds and beasts,
Charming retreats for pleasure and peace.
All this beauty and enchantment
May perish and disappear soon:
Slopes denuded and plains encroached,
Ever expanding cities and towns
And mushrooming of ugly slums
Chimneys spewing clouds of smoke
Poison air with deadly fumes,
Effluents from stinking drains
Fill the streams with filth and foam,
Turn pastures green into arid land.
And spread squalor and misery all around.
May wisdom dawn and stem this tide
Of mindless destruction
And save this lovely planet
Humankind’s only home!