The poem below was written for a work Christmas function that was cancelled due to unforeseen and non-covid related circumstances.
A message from the magical Christmas Tree forest Deep in the ancient forests of an ancient land Festive elves and fairies toil with their hands, And their hearts to create A very special place. The magical Christmas tree forest exists Amongst the totara, kowhai and mountain mist. The birds, festive helpers and plants all understand That there truly is strength in every strand. They work together as one team to achieve a shared vision Of generosity, aroha and inclusion. Whakakotahi is the word they use To express their world view. The interconnections between all life in the forest Means everyone works to always do their best To create the world they want to see Where there’s tiakina mai, accountability. All life in the forest is aware of those deep connections They share, as well as the need for trust and compassion They call it korero mai, which is to say: The magical Christmas Tree Forest way. The forest had long lived by these laws By the time that strife began to knock on its door. The children of the world had stopped believing In the bright futures that they'd be receiving. For years there had been warning signs That the world had begun to run out of time So all the world leaders gathered for COP26 To find a solution, perhaps a quick fix. But it was going to be harder than that To get the world back on track. You see, the Christmas tree forest was under attack By pests, forest fires and the logger’s sharp axe. The world had become too hungry For cheap consumables and nick-nackery we had forgotten the joy of reusing and recycling And how to grow mighty trees from seedlings. All of this pressure was making it hard For the Christmas tree forest to keep up with demand. All of the elves and fairies, plants and animals Realized that they'd all had a guts full. So they wrote a joint letter To their friend who we know as Santa And made the following request for xmas 2021: It was time that the environment won. After reviewing the science and forest dwellers pleas Lovely old Santa definitely agreed And made the following decree:
This year instead of plastic overconsumption I want to turn your attention To saving tomorrow And go carbon zero. I want all of the people To check the label Is it recyclable? Reusable? Repairable? Purposeful? Joyful?
And now the magical Christmas tree forest
is relying on every single one of us
to change our ways,
to save the day.
Angele Toomey Poetry 