Down in the Dumps

The depressed river mussel
was not at all pleased
at being the butt of jokes
and always being teased.

Lighten up, many urged,
why so much melancholy?
Invite a few friends to a party, 
join in the fun and be jolly.

I cannot possibly do that,
was the mollusc's reply,
knowing that my genus
is destined to die.

In the last hundred years
our species distribution
declined by thirty percent
due to increasing pollution.

It is generally accepted
that the risk of extinction
is a genuine possibility,
not just my conviction.

Many inconsiderate folks
fill the river with muck
after a picnic by the bank
but they don't give a fuck.

Then claim no one cares
about the planet's fate
and spend endless hours
in inconclusive debates

trying to found solutions
on how to save the Earth
yet they plunder resources
of which there's a dearth.

 
© Luigi Pagano 2021 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pseudanodonta_complanata_2.jpg