Antarctica

Something I wrote for my geography class. I got 10 out of 10 possible points for it.

Antarctica, A Tale

Let me tell you a tale of a world, a world that’s carved in ice,
I will tell you the fate, this fate we hold, and of this future’s price;
I speak to you of Antarctica, the land of the southern sea,
The place it was, and the place it is, and the place it might yet be.

So about one upteen bajillion years ago (or forty mil, if you prefer)
Everywhere was all one great big place we call Gondwana land,
Back then it was all tropical and a bit balmy ‘round the gills,
Until Everywhere left it there, this place the name “Antarctica” commands.

Now, here, in the present day, it’s the coldest place on Earth;
A daytime temp to freeze your blood, a nighttime temp to freeze your soul;
The whistling of the frozen plains, the bubbling of Erebus’ pool,
The click and clatter of ice-chilled matter as you approach the Southern pole.

It took us awhile to find this place, like till 1820 A.D. or so,
But what with it being a land a mite inhospitable, a land of frozen chill,
People didn’t want to come and stay until after World War 2,
When suddenly it appeared to be the hotspot of scientific thrill.

But we’ve gone and left our mark on this place; that’s what people do,
With trash lying in gulches and gullies and dumped out on the shore,
“More than just footprints [are] left and more than photos have been taken”
And if we don’t take care what we leave there will taint the future evermore.

The future can be starry bright but it’s haunted by our past,
It’s a stunning brand new day, but there is the taint that is mankind,
Us, the creature that creates and can destroy,
Our hopes and dreams, our future schemes, best done with eyes not blind.

10:37 pm, 10/13/10