They say that the devil is in the detail,
but I think the devil is in the retail of this coffee that I sip
from an old man with leathered skin
from halfway across the globe
fair trade in a plastic cup
but would you trade your plastic cup,
if you were asked to give it up?
when the mountains that we cherish
are the same mountains that become
the granite countertops
in which we set our laptops on
with their elegant wallpapers of sandstone cliffs
while we eat our take-out Chinese out of Styrofoam containers
staining our new shirts, these organic cotton threads
What is the cost?
when our communities are cancer clusters
with front lawns of monocultures
abandoned coal mines with Marlboro man posters
is this the wild wild west?
or the west sold to the highest bidder
with the highest figure?
what is the cost?
after all of the fracking and cracking
from lobbyist financial backing
comes the water and oil stained black
so you better stay back
if you plan to light that match
(Curtains close – fade to black)
pleasure doing business with you
What is the cost?
when stronger storms become the norm,
record year happening year after year
see you can avoid the truth,
but you cannot avoid the consequences
of avoiding the truth
What is the cost?
In 50 years, I want my grandkids to swim in the creek
I want to dip my face in the icy stream of a distant peak
and not have to explain that
once upon a time there was more fish than plastic
once upon a time the earth had lungs before we stripped it of that magic
What is the cost?
Action,
isn’t just reserved for those of a certain faction
and protective passion,
isn’t just for those with threads soaked in campfire smoke
see hope is,
for every living person
and every living thing on this earth
so with a voice comes a responsibility for action
So what is the cost?
More importantly though, is who pays the price?
Think of that when you look into a child’s eyes