This poem was written in honor of Earth Day and concern for the children’s future.
Why, Daddy, why? I heard my young son implore,
Can’t we swim in the ocean or go to the shore?
Grandpa told me of dolphins that leap in the air
And water so blue and so crystal clear.
Dad replied, “Son, I wish it were so,
But the pollution has made it unsafe for us to go.”
Why, Daddy, why can’t I go out to play?
Why is it so hard to breathe and why is the sky so gray?
Where’s the flowers to smell and the birds to sing?
There’s no trees to climb or to hang up a swing.
We can’t drink the water; we can’t breathe the air.
Daddy, I don’t think it is fair.
I wish I could do what you did as a child.
“I do, too, Son, ’cause it makes life worthwhile.”
But Dad, what did you do to protect what you had?
I hung my head down. How could I answer the lad?
I woke up from my nightmare in a terrible state.
I thank God I was dreaming, and it wasn’t too late.
It must have been a warning that we have to take care.
Each of us will have to do our share.
We can’t take for granted all the nature that abounds,
Or, someday, it may no longer be around.
If we can land a man on the moon, send a spacecraft to Mars,
We can clean up and protect this great planet of ours.
We owe it to this land and our grandchildren, too,
To make sure that my nightmare never comes true.
So that “why, Daddy?” will never be asked.
Gale White
Dover
