THEY SAY by Emily Chen
You must stop deforestation
“Nature is heaven on Earth”
You are wrong
When will you realise
Everything has a price
I believe
The monumental advancement made in this lifetime is worth the cost
You are wrong to assume that
Lie and turn a blind eye to the reality
We are your gods, your fate, your destiny, you cannot
Live without our help
Without us paving the path you walk on, creating and sustaining life how can you
Exist how can you survive
If we cannot
Boost the economy
Bathe in opulence
Garner fame
Acquire status
Prosper and thrive
To achieve the unachievable
Why does it matter
When you can have these things
They are wrong
“The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity”
That is the truth whether you like it or not
Humanity has achieved the unprecedented because of us
They are the ones that are right
“There won’t be a future if you continue”
They say
“Deforestation and pollution is a major issue ”
They say
“Corporations like you are killing us”
They say
They do not know any better
Other than what they have been taught
Their hypocrisy and incorrigible ways kill me
They act all magnanimous and omniscient
Call me a cynic but
Their sycophantic nature
It sickens me
But what about us
“Humanity is the priority”
As it should be and always has been
For we are the original
We are the beginning of all things extraordinary
We have developed society to what it is today
The roots upon which innovation grows
We bear the fruits of our labour that are too often taken for granted
The myriad of branches for corporations to strive upon and blossom
We have sculpted the world from our ancestors, our blood
To become the Utopia it is today
They should thank us
The feeling of unbeatable success
Felt when surrounded by humanity drowns out
The suffocating presence
Of vast unexplored landscapes
These woodlands
Full of unknown species yet to be discovered
Entire ecosystems yet to be explored
Are meant to be cut down and used for industrial revolution
Who’s to say we
Are wrong
You?
(Now read from bottom to top)
By Emily Chen
Winner of the Edna O Brien Creative Writing Competition SCC @2022