My great, great grandchildren won't let me sleep
Notes: This opening stanza of a poem titled "Hieroglyphic Stairway," by Drew Dellinger speaks far more eloquently than the dry phrase "intergenerational justice."
The poem has been circulating for at least a decade. In 2009, this stanza was read aloud by a member of Congress to Al Gore, when he testified at a hearing (April 24) on climate.
The full poem can be read at Green World Trust. Dellinger can be heard reading it in his video titled Planetize the Movement. See more about Dellinger and his work at http://drewdellinger.org/.
image source: Dave Dellinger, Planetize the Movement video
Listing Details
"It's 3:23 in the morning, and I'm awake
because my great, great, grandchildren won't let me sleep.
My great, great, grandchildren ask me in dreams
what did you do, while the planet was plundered?
what did you do, when the earth was unravelling?
surely you did something when the seasons started failing
as the mammals, reptiles, and birds were all dying?
did you fill the streets with protest when democracy was stolen?
what did you do
once
you"
knew?
