The Black Forest Cuckoo Clock | Teen Ink

The Black Forest Cuckoo Clock

June 5, 2024
By anishaauthor BRONZE, Sacramento, California
anishaauthor BRONZE, Sacramento, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Cuckoo Cuckoo

Rise shall I

Mighty and free

A new day is among us

Let the Black Forest Cuckoo sing


Sink shall I

The glaciers and ice sheets

Your warming presence

Rises with you and the sea


Cuckoo Cuckoo

Stroll shall I

Through the park of green

Yet hot am I

Dang it

I have no sunscreen


Burn shall I

Your skin and the park

I love to turn green

To the yellows and reds

That leave a scar


Cuckoo Cough

Escape shall I

The city has shade

Overcast by clouds

How quickly life has changed


Cast shall I

The clouds of dark air

Breathe in

Breathe out

Your lungs are in despair


Cuckcough Cough

Drink shall I

My throat needs water

Kind waiter please help me

Sorry young lady

You shall wait till those clouds submerge you

I haven’t got any water


Wait shall I

I like your struggle

The scarcity you’ve created

Allows me to haggle


Cough Cough

Falling am I

My head down to my feet

Oh what have I done

I cannot hear my Black Forest Cuckoo sing


Fallen have you

Not so mighty

Not so free

You realize that the world you exist in

Needs hands without grime


So child take action

There is still enough time for tomorrow

You can still let the Black Forest Cuckoo sing

Just no more tick tocks


The author's comments:

This poem was created to help raise awareness about the effects of climate change, inspired from the Bow Seat Ocean awareness program.

I was inspired by the relentless ticking of a clock, symbolizing the gradual yet inevitable effects of climate change. The image of a ticking clock stuck in my mind, leading me to think about the iconic Black Forest Cuckoo Clock. This clock, with its bird emerging to "yell" at humans, seemed a perfect metaphor for nature's urgent call to acknowledge the consequences of our actions. 

Through this poem, I hope readers are able to take away the consequences of climate change and the urgency to take action. I flip back and forth between the perspective of a human and personify climate change to highlight the impacts of global warming such as melting glaciers, heatwaves, air pollution, water scarcity, and overall environmental degradation. Although we have endangered our planet, we still have the power to take control and action, and make Earth a better planet.


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.