Whose Life Is This?

Taking a break from studying,

You begin to play your guitar,

And in your woolgathering,

Onstage you see yourself,

Precentor of a band ever popular,

"Laís!" you hear someone call your name,

Thinking it's a groupie, you rock even harder;

But the voice is faint, like echoes in a ravine,

You soon realize it's that of your darling mother.

She sits beside you on your bed, "¿Quieras estudiar biología?"

You give her that look that says it all,

"If she does, she'll be lucky to live in a favella!",

Yells your father, barreling down the hall,

What they don't know is... it's not just about lucre;

It's about saving a world that is, by our hands, in free fall,

About ensuring the future,

Of a state as fragile as the ground is friable.

The look in their eyes,

Says they're not content with your choice of emprise;

It's a look you've paid little attention to,

But through time have grown to despise,

Anger crescent like Rimini's libido,

If only they knew that it's tearing you up inside;

Yet the story thereat remains untold,

Expressed solely in sighs and moues.

(Allow me to speak for you...)

Knowing you get only one chance,

You return to studying for the vestibular,

Its importance cannot be overly stressed,

For it comes but once each year;

You study hard, with intent assiduous,

As though for each point you'd score

Reduces by one Earth's rising temperature,

Awaiting you is your spot amongst scientists,

Whom every possibility -- no matter how minute -- explores,

In their endless quest for answers and cures...

So, Laís, stop for no one -- nadie!

Let the naysayers delate,

And call yours an exercise in naivete,

For, to convention, you chose not to capitulate --

Perhaps you won't make much money,

But how many scientists you know live in dire straits?

Moreover, how many are governed by cupidity,

And not desire to make the world a better place?

We were deemed stewards of this vast land,

And hitherto we've all but failed:

Oceanic levels have risen,

As, too, have the number of endangered species...

Grandiose living necessitates deforestation --

But do we need that second or third home at the expense of animals' only one?

Hostile nations machinate --

In governmental labs do deadly diseases now originate --

The world needs intrepid souls like you...to help restore order and reduce surfeit.

You have the power,

Change is within reach,

Provide us with succor,

To excavate us from this depthless breach...

¡Yo creo en ti!

- Kevin B. Waring