Walruses on the Cliff

A poem

We watched them Well, not personally

But the pain was just as vivid Walrus after walrus

Climbing (They should not be climbing!)

They are not made to climb But the ice,

The glacier, is gone; Was gone,

Is still gone, Will always now be gone.

They climbed up this rock mountain Short but steep,

A place not meant for them, A new place

They were exhausted, Searching for food is harder and harder

Species are dying out, you know, I know, We know, we know

They used to rest on the ice In between hunts,

They used to catch a break; A natural break

Now we watched On TV,

Walrus after walrus Climbing up and then calmly, simply, just walking off —

Off of the edge, Falling to their crushing death,

rolling walrus bodies, tumbling walrus bodies,

Dying by the hundreds Because they could not rest,

Where they used to rest And they had never seen

Cliffs and rocks and things to climb That end, that don’t continue

That have a rough jagged edge, Not smooth and cold, not flat

Not safe and home; Extinction is too good for us

We caused this we caused this we continue to cause this And in the wrong way in the wrong verse in the wrong context

Over and over again we say We shall not be moved

What’s a few thousand dead walruses anyway When we have more coal to burn

We are, all of us, going up Dumbly, willingly, over the edge

We are, all of us, Pitching into the unknown acidic rising sea

Jenny Justice is a mom, Sociology instructor, and writer. You can follow her on Medium and at Jenny Justice, Writer. She has been recognized as a Top Writer on Medium in Poetry, Parenting, Reading, Education, Books, Racism, Feminism and Climate Change, so far. You can follow her poetry at Justice Poetic.