Sparrow

By CM Yeung, 18, Indiana

The sparrow swoops low,

Pleasant chirps and dew drift down

To the friends below.

Grass waves drowsily

And trees shed fluttering leaves

Which float into the cerulean sky.

Puffy clouds drift, soaking up

The vivid colors. 

It looks so real that,

For a moment, I almost

Forget where I am. 

Because beyond the

Cracked glass of the old picture, 

A wasteland rises.

I sit in ashes,

Thick smog settled around me. 

The grass is gone, dead. 

The trees are withered, 

Branches blackened and dry 

Sparrows can’t be found. 

I am the last one

Standing in this soiled world 

All alone.

I never heard the

Pleasing chirp of a sparrow

In a sea of grass. 

I can’t imagine

A world beyond the dirt and

Heat that beats my brow.

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I was in an international writing program where I was given the assignment to write a poem and make a film about it. I had no experience in poetry, so I wrote several sets of haikus and made it into one poem. I chose to write about climate change and the future because it’s a relevant topic that affects everyone and I typically write science fiction. This piece was ultimately the catalyst that made me start writing poetry.

Instagram: @cmyeungg

Photo by Anastasiya Romanova