My mom used to tell me about the day the sun would stop burning and the world would end.

She told me it would all be over,

everything would be gone.

It scared me.

But she told me not to worry, ‘cause that wouldn’t happen for billions of years,

not until long after I was gone.

I wouldn’t have to worry.

But still, I open my computer, and warnings burst in my face like fireworks on the fourth of July.

11 years left,

Neglect,

Rising sea levels,

Climate Change,

Students strike back,

The tabs keep popping up as the rock in my throat grows heavier and heavier until it feels as if it’s the size of a boulder.

A boulder so heavy that it presses all the way down into my body.

Slowly replaced with the weight of bubbling rage.

Rage that builds when ignorant tongues spew out and destructive hands neglect the Earth that we should be holding dear.

There’s no denying it,

the day the world will end is coming sooner than I thought.

The day the sun dies, and plants disappear like hermit crabs in their shells is drawing near.

And now I’m scared.

I have reason to worry.

Only this time,

Mom can’t tell me there’s nothing to fear

-The time to change is long overdue