THERE ARE BETTER LEGACIES

A confession poem.

FREEMANTLE 2018

he warns me I’d better watch out

that I will burn easier here than in Europe

points up to the bright blue sky

and confides there is a hole

with diplomatic cowardice

I refrain from admitting partial responsibility

forty years ago I worked in the chemical industry

involved in the negative alchemy of turning brine

into caustic, hydrogen and chlorine [the basis of all CFCs]

the side effect of which half a world away

is this hole in the sky

There are better legacies

Yes, I was involved in manufacturing the materials to make CFCs in the 1970s. At least I can say that the governments of the world agreed to ban then, eventually.

Here's Laura Nyro and Save The Country.

Until next time.