State of the Planet

"You come across it in the Mexican desert,A palo verde tree near-by, moss green. Some Insect-eating bird with feathers the color Of a morning sky perched on a limb of the tree. That blue, that green, the completely fierce Alertness of the bird that can't know amazement Of it's being there.......But soon enough We'd have fashioned sexy little earrings from the feathers, Highlighted our cheekbones by rubbings from the rocks, And made a spear from the sineweywood of the tree."

Just reading this part of the poem made me think about the ever changing fashion industry. Having worked in retail there is always new fashions. New York, Paris, London always debuting the latest fashions but we are never really curious about where things are coming from. The shimmer of eyeshadow, the sparkle of our nail polish, the twinkle of the blush. Most of the things are not 100% synthetic they have natural foundation.

I have seen the earrings, shoes, belts, and bracelets that were made of colorful feather, and animals skins, and because it is either "in" or "trendy for the moment the demand out grew the supply. Have we ever stopped to wonder if the feathers and skins were coming from birds, or reptiles, that once thrived on the planet who now, because of "fashion" may be on the endangered list. What about the minerals that support a multi-million, if not billion dollar cosmetics industry annually. Where are the sources coming from? The commercials tout that they are 100% natural so again because of vanity we are harvesting and exhausting resources that may not be around for the future generation.

During this poem it talks about the greed of humanity that is robbing the world of its resources. Just reading this section of the poem and looking at an ever growing fashion and cosmetics industry shows the greed and the vanity of humanity (whether we want to admit it or not). We are willing to strip some poor animal of their skin for the latest thousand dollar pair of shoes. It's no wonder PETA and other earth concious organizations are always full force - you have people wearing the skins, furs, and minerals that so rightly are being stripped from the earth at rapid rates. As fast as things are being taken nothing is being returned. This viscous cycle shows no sign of slowing unless we all wake up and realize that this is the "State of the Planet".