ARTIST: Rubab Jafri

In the desolation of today,

I hang on to the promises of tomorrow:

When life will be in harmony

And struggles gone.

I believe that things will change

And I will fly again over the rainbows

Looking down at forests and rivers

Spotting wildlife, as they enjoy their day.

Waiting for tomorrow, I watch

Videos about nature and read books

About wildlife; I imagine the future

And think of stuff to take along.

And, then, I remember, yesterday and today:

Where we pump more oil and burn more coal

Cut more forests and mine more gold.

And then, I wonder, how tomorrow will be.

How will tomorrow be, if today:

We kill each other and nature too;

We build more weapons and borders too?

Will tomorrow be beautiful, if today we neglect?

Ahmar Mahboob is a Linguist. Currently, he is Associate Professor at the Department of Linguistics at the University of Sydney.