On a Walk Through Town
We see glitter in cracks in the pavement,
Foil balloons tied onto trees,
We see a squirrel jump out of a bin with a start,
And crisp packets dance in the breeze.
We see flyers for things that happened last year
Crawling through sprawling hedges,
Receipts for shopping long since forgotten
Flitting by littered curb edges.
We see plastic bags fighting the railings,
Desperate to fly wild and free.
We see bottles and packets, containers and cans,
Cuddling up with the trees.
But it’s fine! The trees still grow, the buds still bloom,
The flowers still look to the sun,
The insects and birds and squirrels and mice
Continue to creep, fly, and run.
Except for the times when the squirrels and mice
Choke on abandoned plastic,
Or the hungry bird hunting for worms
Finds his beak wrapped up in elastic.
And there’s also the creature whose gentle tread
Is marred by broken glass,
Or the one who dies in a glass jar jail
Well hidden in the grass.
Not forgetting the plants who can’t feel the rain
As they’re drowning in fields of waste,
Or the buds that stay closed as they can’t find the sun
And are lost to the human race.
And race we must, because it will get worse,
The rubbish will loom larger each day,
Until it reaches the sky and takes over the clouds
And nature loses her way.
There is something so good about nature’s attempt
To hold fast onto her glory,
But our rubbish is slowly destroying her
And it’s time to change the story.
Foil balloons tied onto trees,
We see a squirrel jump out of a bin with a start,
And crisp packets dance in the breeze.
We see flyers for things that happened last year
Crawling through sprawling hedges,
Receipts for shopping long since forgotten
Flitting by littered curb edges.
We see plastic bags fighting the railings,
Desperate to fly wild and free.
We see bottles and packets, containers and cans,
Cuddling up with the trees.
But it’s fine! The trees still grow, the buds still bloom,
The flowers still look to the sun,
The insects and birds and squirrels and mice
Continue to creep, fly, and run.
Except for the times when the squirrels and mice
Choke on abandoned plastic,
Or the hungry bird hunting for worms
Finds his beak wrapped up in elastic.
And there’s also the creature whose gentle tread
Is marred by broken glass,
Or the one who dies in a glass jar jail
Well hidden in the grass.
Not forgetting the plants who can’t feel the rain
As they’re drowning in fields of waste,
Or the buds that stay closed as they can’t find the sun
And are lost to the human race.
And race we must, because it will get worse,
The rubbish will loom larger each day,
Until it reaches the sky and takes over the clouds
And nature loses her way.
There is something so good about nature’s attempt
To hold fast onto her glory,
But our rubbish is slowly destroying her
And it’s time to change the story.
This poem is copyright (©) Rhiannon Oliver 2024
About the Writer
Rhiannon Oliver
Rhiannon is an actress, poet, workshop facilitator and playgroup leader based in Cardiff. She started writing for children in 2021 and has been published in The Caterpillar, Tyger Tyger, The Toy, The Dirigible Balloon, Northern Gravy, Paperbound, Little Thoughts Press, Parakeet, Buzgaga, and Launchpad (Australia). She has publications forthcoming in multiple anthologies. She has also written and created performance videos for The Big Welsh Rhyme Time (Book Trust Cymru) and her poetry has appeared on TV (Only Boys Aloud Christmas Concert, S4C). She is part of Literature Wales' Representing Wales 2023 scheme and is currently developing her first collection for children which explores Mental Health and Well-being.