I close my eyes
And I am in a new world.

The previously blue sky
Is gray from the smoke,
The once green land
Is black and yellow from construction,
The breathtaking river
Is now a stream of trash.

I am trapped in a house,
Wall to wall with my neighbors.
I look out the window,
And there is nothing
But vinyl siding staring back at me.

I walk outside,
Only to find the plants dead,
The animals starved and homeless.
The garbage from each address
Is piled high across
What is meant to be a front yard.
All of the plastic bags,
Stretched to their supreme,
Waiting to be collected,
Then dumped
Into an overflowing landfill.

A car drives by,
Exhaust coming out from its tailpipe,
The driver blowing out smoke from a cigarette.
The pollution vanishes
Into the clouds of ash,
As the car drives on.

As I continue my walk,
I notice there are no birds,
No insects,
No colors,
Just a gray world
With humans
And their waste.

My eyes pop open,
I stare at my mirror,
My poster, my window.
Nothing had changed.
There is still hope.

I leap out of bed,
and tour the neighborhood.
The grass is still green,
The sun is shining,
The trees are healthy,
The birds are chirping,
The squirrels are fleeing.
Life is normal.

I breath in the clean air,
Exhale,
And linger
As I pass children
Laughing in the park.
I am determined,
Desperate,
To make a change.

Earth's destiny
Is never determined.
But the only way
To guarantee that,
Is to prove it.