When Nature Cries

                                                     (original tittle Ketika  Alam Menangis)

           I have spoken out 

           when they harm the hills 

            and wound the trees 

            Where I learn to write poetry

 

           But they say I must learn to face reality 

-          This is the age of industry 

            We cannot avoid deforestation 

            We need more houses for the growing population

            

            May be they are right 

           but it breaks my heart 

           as they sit to calculate their profit 

           the wind is jumping on the roof

           Water attacking villages and coasts 

           It’s my people who suffer the most 

           Let the poor cling to lifeboats 

           or drift with the mud and tide 

           we need stylish houses 

            For the country’s images and pride

            Let the earth be sad and desperate 

           The country does not need romantic poets.

                                     ZURINAH HASSAN

                                      Malaysia National Laureate.

                                           Published in OTHER WORDS 

                                           An International Journal of Creative Writing

                                           Volume 3,   Issue 1.