Just One Whirl

Just One Whirl

Tick-tock, just one whirl of the universal clock

This last twenty-four hours, hey let’s take stock

Three hundred and sixty thousand happy new born

One hundred and fifty-one thousand sadly mourned

Extreme weather and natural disasters probed

Showed eighty five earthquakes shook the globe

Sixty seven countries involved in anarchic warfare

Seven hundred and sixty-nine groups not playing fair

Twenty million risks starving to death from famine

Five million five hundred tonnes is wasted mammon

Worldwide, eight billionaires have as much money

As three point six billion people in poverty, not funny

Democratic freedom is enjoyed by forty-five percent

Just partly by thirty, for twenty-five just a non-event

Next time the alarm goes and you jump out of bed

Try to ‘Have a nice day’ �" from all that I’ve said

Copyright @ Phillozofee 2017

Reviews

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Numbers don't lie. Shocking, incredible litany of facts and figures of abominations in this literal poetic countdown. Great couplets, flow, cadence, rhyme. 'Just the facts, ma'am'...makes me want to get back in bed and pull covers over my head! Excellent, important, relevant poem. We are but minnows in a tsunami...

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Thank you for your heartfelt review - :-)

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

You are very welcome my friend!:)

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Very good poem it's hard to see the good in everything but we must if we are to get on each day and get through life we must concentrate on positives not negatives it's hard I know great read very thought provoking stuff

[Tony Jordan]

A tsunami of figures makes my head spin but seeing them listed like this (eloquent rhyming BTW) tends to make it spin and weigh on my heart too.
How did we get here?
Cool commentary on humankind's state Phill.

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Thank you for the kind review .. :-)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

with all that math---the figures hardly add up to "have a nice day"

love the sarcasm in the last two lines...and how the rest of the poem is a solemn news report---like our old newscasters used to do...here is the news...that's the way it was...

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Thank you Jacob - could hardy believe the figures myself - but they are relevant ..