‘It’s Not Easy Being Green:

A Year of Trying to be Environmentally Friendly’

by Caroline Burrows @VerseCycle with Friends

Read by Caroline Burrows VerseCycle

I’ve switched to using loose-leaf tea,

‘Cos teabags sealed with glue leak micro-plastics in the sea.

But my lycra leggings are made from polystyrene,

And leach the same when in the washing machine.

I need to try harder; it’s not easy being green.

2: Read by Paul

Someone I know’s worried about Climate Breakdown,

Wants to see wildlife before it’s all gone,

So he’s flown on holiday to Kenya.

Then I see my coffee’s shipped here from there.

It’s not easy being green; There are no local coffee farmers.

3: Read by Caroline Burrows VerseCycle

Milky cans of worms stir in my coffee cup.

Three lattes a day over the course of a year,

Release enough CO2 into the atmosphere,

To fly me one-way halfway across Europe.

It’s not easy being green; I’m giving lattes up.

4: Read by Kate

A councillor representing the Green Party,

Tells me how hard it is to go car free.

But I’m still a hypocrite with only a bike,

The carbon-fibre forks carbon-footprint ‘ain't light.

It’s not easy being green; one day I’ll get it right.

5: Read by Caroline Burrows VerseCycle

The Lancaster Global Climate Strike’s near,

Approaching with chants, whistles and drums.

Leading from the frontline, school kids appear,

An army with signs held by dads and mums.

It’s not easy being green; but these kids have done their sums.

6: Read by Jonathon Humble  https://northernjim.wordpress.com

Do I buy what I need which is one loose lemon,

Or the organic four pack not pesticide sprayed,

On a black plastic tray wrapped in cellophane?

I opt for the single fruit in this conundrum.

It’s not easy being green; Did I get it right or wrong?

7: Read by Caroline Burrows VerseCycle

I refuse a Climate Protest sticker,

Peeled from a roll of laminated paper.

Then my Turkish Delight wrapper makes me dismal,

Eastern promise heads for Lancaster landfill.

It’s not easy being green; this battle’s uphill.

8: Read by Chris Brown  Twitter: @ChrisBrownYoga

My bovine milk comes in plastic udders,

But I’ve found a nearby Morecambe dairy,

Has glass bottles of free-range it delivers,

From field and farm into Lancaster city.

It’s not easy being green; but this was elementary.

9: Read by Caroline Burrows VerseCycle

My music heroes are promoting LPs,

An old way to buy the latest album,

While shunning space-saving MP3s,

Most vinyl’s part-made from petroleum.

It’s not easy being green is a digital anthem.

10: Read by Anonymous

I like a certain restaurant’s home-cook pizzas,

But they’re wrapped with polystyrene excess,

Next time I’ll buy a supermarket’s own brand,

They’ve used cardboard, a recycling redress.

It’s not easy being green; the pizza chain’s not hard to guess.