𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬: “Eden” by Francis Dwayne Catalan

Published by: Daniel Joshua Madrid 

Date Published: February 14, 2025

Time Published: 12:37 PM

Category: Poetry

Theme: The starking contrast between the untouched beauty of the past and the desolate state of the present.

In the beginning, there was paradise—

Where the sun spilled gold upon tender leaves,

Where rivers flowed as clear as daylight,

And the earth was soft as a mother’s caress.

But where is the garden now,

Where once the sky was rich with promise

And the soil bent low with fruit

Too heavy to hold in one hand?

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥!

Cities began to rise like forgotten giants,

The air thickens with murmurs of a smokescreen,

The earth thirsts for the touch of a healing rain,

While roots cling desperately to lumps of dirt.

The branches, once full,

Now reach toward empty space—

Empty of fruit,

Empty of shade.

Oceans, once brimming with life,

Thus echo with the silence of fading waters;

Coral gardens drown beneath the burden of waste,

As fishes flail in dreams long abandoned.

The sea had begged, whispering prayers

To the winds that carry its lamentations ashore,

"𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴,

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸?"

Fires consume the life of the forest,

Burning verdant lands into desolate ashes,

Where creatures once roamed with freedom,

Thus seeking refuge in memories of what once were.

They wailed amidst their impending doom,

"𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦,

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱?"

They stood, they crawled, they walked,

But there was no road—

Only the destruction left behind,

The deluge in its wake.

Thus all they have left were their paws

That reach, that grasp,

That tear through the earth

Only to find it barren.

𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝗲𝗻—

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱.