A is for April...A-Z ...and Auden

  Auden, W.H. (1907-1973)

Wystan Hugh Auden was an Anglo-American poet, one of the most influential voices of the last century. Click on his name above and read more about him. The specific poems of Auden that mine is a response to can be found here and here, this post uses a double prompt.  If you prefer you can listen to them instead!

And here is the response :

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose...

Our planet in 2015

isn’t a dream in blue and green;

a sprinkle of red paprika

on the usual spots in Africa.

Birds still have scarlet legs

and women grow harvested eggs;

some places too few babies are born

others too many trafficked for porn.

Lions and giraffes in urban zoos

are killed off as their keepers choose,

an uptick in poached tiger parts

whaling’s refined to an abstract art.

The civet’s trapped in a small cage

the coffee it shits is all the rage.

Dangers grow larger, families small

the dogs in flats are huge and tall.

Strange upheavals of soil and air

feeds research on the ozone layer;

earthquakes and volcano ash

cities doped up on digital trash.

Half the population’s unshod

but the carbon footprint is broad,

futuristic fuels are planned,

drones are automated unmanned.

Education is a human right

but then the resources are tight -

untold millions in refugee camps

thin blankets and sputtering lamps.

Religion’s found an extreme groove

violent crime is on the move.

High seas hide pirates in old boats.

A lover’s spat can end in shots.

Some learn to keep their penis safe -

a rod is so much handier for rape.

The law courts grow long in the tooth

plucking the tissues for the truth.

It’s increasingly acceptable

to covet a designer label -

a silver spooner is by birth

entitled to enhance their worth.

Political leaders pretend

corruption isn’t a worldwide trend.

Leather jackets and roadshow 
but the German answer is still no.

The gun lobbies chuckle and say

low grade warfare’s here to stay;

some bullets must expand on impact;

death is a long-drawn out fact.

In this world one peevish airman

can crash planes straight into a mountain;

another that’s lost over the sea

a year later and still no debris!

Emails, facebook, social network

no time for ennui for any clerk -

an empire was once free to implode

now we fall to info overload.

But still the morning glories refuse

to shut up shop or blow a fuse.

Spring still comes round once it’s April

the earth is lovely! even downhill.

Whew. It was really difficult to choose a poet for A- there are too many maestros - Anna Akhmatova (Russian), Maya Angelou (American) Javed Akhtar (Indian).... the list is long and I can never pick one without tying myself in knots.  Do you have a favourite writer for A? Do you struggle to decide favourites?

A word more about the contest that will run throughout the month, here on the A-Z posts. There will be giveaways for the top commenters after it is over, so do check back and make your opinions heard. 

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2015