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 unraveling?
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?

Excerpted from Love Letter to the Milky Way, by Drew Dellinger. White Cloud Press, 2011. Reprinted with permission.

This article appears in the October 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.