Each time I set out to pen one of my climate-news poems, I try really hard not to make it bouncy and rhyming. But terrible bouncy rhymes seem to flow in my veins. It’s a curse, to write such verse! So this week I promised myself I’d experiment with blank verse — and hey, why not dabble in a little friendly plagiarism while I’m at it. Without the knowledge or permission of fellow climate-news summarizer Eric Roston, I’ve repurposed the quite lovely introduction to his most recent column. Because he’s a poet and he don’t … uh … recognize it.

The U.S. Congress fast-tracks climate legislation,
international negotiators hash through
the first “negotiating text”
for year-end global talks in Germany,
and big businesses start counting their carbon.

The pile of climate stories this week
climbed
faster
than
predicted New England sea levels.

Maine oceanNo shore thing.Helvetiq via flickr