A message

there is a red light blinking on the answering machine

we decide to erase it but it keeps returning

how strange

but, then again, if it’s broken, we can always go out and buy a new one

right?

there seems to be a message here

but we are just not seeing it

maybe we don’t want to

maybe we don’t have the time

maybe we are just to busy

minding our own business

preparing dinner, mowing the lawn and preparing for soccer practice

there are tsunamis, oil spills, deforestation

erosion

piles of garbage

smog

and earthquakes

floods

volcanos and ash clouds

there is hunger and malnutrition

there is obesity - people dying from eating too much

but why should I care?

I feel fine. Most of the time.

and all the stress

there are status symbols, status updates, status pressure

we climb higher, go faster, build bigger, work harder

mother Earth

we inherited her

now we are draining her

raping her

she is screaming “no”

again and again

but nobody seems to listen

we pretend we don’t hear

and carry on

doing what we do

minding our own business

the way we always have

and the red light is still there...

if we would push play

I think we would hear her crying