A Sleepless Night

It is rather late,
I'm trying to sleep
but ask myself
will the milk keep?
When I bought it I didn't
check the 'sell by' date.

There was a time
when the milkman left 
the gold-top bottles
on our doorstep
in winter mornings
when it was still dark.

The birds were quick
at piercing the flimsy
milk bottle's caps 
enabling them
to steal the cream,
overstepping the mark.

It is at such moments
that one tends
to change his opinion
of our feathered friends
No ifs and no buts,
we'll hate their guts.

But why do I  bother
about a trivial thing
as a dairy product
or the implication
of rascal birds'
improper conduct,
while the end is nigh?

The death knell tolled
lugubriously clear
for our doomed planet
but to the dire warning
of global warming
we seem to be deaf
and do not respond.

The sudden realisation
that this matter is
of far-reaching import
for everyone's sake
has jolted me so
that all-night-long
I'll remain awake.

 
© Luigi Pagano 2021