Ghost Playground, by Tiffany Qu
My friends and I meet under the big oak tree.
One of us counts, the others hide.
One behind the swings, another climbs a birch tree.
We’re found! And we race past monkey bars and golden tulips. Hearts pumping with joy. Cool under the trees.
The Sun, warm and lovely, sets in its majestic beauty.
Fireflies glow as our elders dance to tranquil folk songs.
But as we play, holes are bored through centuries-old
ecosystems. Coal, Natural gas, and oil burns and
intoxicates our once fresh air.
Smoke, grey and a scorching red
when the bushes, dry with a drought,
yields, burn and sting our eyes and lungs.
Methane, released with the drill
and carbon dioxide from cars and stoves,
warm the seas and stir the weather.
We cry as our Rivers and Ponds turn murky.
Brown with chemicals and pesticides
Dumped in excessive amounts
from factories and power plants.
We cherish our bread and the precious water,
Nutrients and care that fed and bred our food.
As water is extracted from depleting reservoirs
And fertilizers are brought to coax life into crops.
We pick litter from beaches. We free Seagulls
and Turtles and Sea Corals from nets that are abandoned
and choke marine life. The Park is silent, save for the
creaking of empty swings. The air is heavy and solemn,
with the consequences of our negligence.
We plant an earth-brown seed and
nourish it with time and dedication,
in hopes and dreams of a brighter future.
Tiffany Qu is a high school junior from New York City. She enjoys writing about environmental issues and experimenting with different forms and styles of writing.
— Tiffany Qu
