Poetry

People, we need to talk about trash!

We produce – for the sake of economic growth.
We don’t reuse – the reason for it is sloth.
We recycle – yes, like world champions do.
However, we don’t reduce – neither consumption, nor waste, nor shampoo.

Let’s stop talking trash – stop thinking about cash,
And start a serious conversation about real-world trash:
There are masks on the ground, in creeks and on trees,
Fighting for dominance with birds, turtles and bees.
Trash is burned by humankind – you have fancy incineration plants in mind?
But think of the people burning trash outside – in backyards, on streets, or on tracks alike.

There are dump sites and landfills, there is litter in the streets,
and plastic bags, micro and nano – a huge mess of deceits.
Plastic floats around oceans in all forms and shapes and competes,
with seahorses and coral reefs, to be the ocean’s elites.

Out of sight does not mean out of mind, indeed,
If we don’t act now, we only get further behind; that’s guaranteed.
So, let’s stand together, here and now –
Let’s stand up and fight and say: PLASTIC CIAO!

Mirjam Grünholz, February 2022

Photo Credits: Suman Paul

Ein Elefant im Schnee

Wo der Herbst den Winter küsst,
Wo die Sonne dem Nebel lebewohl sagt,
Wo ich durch den tiefen Schnee stapfe,

Da sehe ich Formen von Wasser,
Lange, schimmernde Eiszapfen,
Nebel über der Aare,
Geschmolzenen Schnee, der von den Bäumen tropft,

Gefrorene Strassen -
nicht gesalzen, da der Schnee, wie jedes Mal, so unerwartet kam;
Dampfenden Atem.

Und da, herje, einen Elefanten im blau schimmernden Schnee.

Mirjam Grünholz, November 2024