^{_{This piece was written for the Green Office’s Spring Poetry competition, on the theme: Environmental Guilt, which took place between the months of April-May 2022. The following poem received an Honourable Mention for the criterion Form and Flow.}}

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Tension! Stress! What should I do?

Another plastic bag flew right through.

Like different species: red and green and blue.

Hanging off trees, swimming too.

I walk I see! What should I do?

I care! I state! And yet - I don't take them away.

I state! I do! Save the Earth!

And yet I fly and even buy seafood.

You do?! What a lie! Such a hypocrite!

You state you love Earth, but you ruin it.

"Carelessness!

Shame!

Guilt!

How dare you!"

Do more! I state! Be good!

Reduce the plastic – drastic.

Not enough. I state! Save the Earth!

Don’t pretend your help helps at the end.

Ingenuine! Hypocrite. I state!

If you would care, you wouldn’t feel this way.

Instead! I state! You will feel light

An environmentalist does always do it right

Tension! Stress! What should I do?

Can I be good and imperfect too?