Salutations from afar!

For shame,

we could not welcome you here, 

to this dangerous place and time;

the erstwhile paradise we reduce

to irradiated bad-lands, poisoned waters,

polluted air, sand-wastes, toxic dumps,

opencast mined hell-holes,

rubbish slag heaps and acid seas

...a place stripped of creaturely dignity

whether for animal or man

in slums, laboratories, intensive farms.

We could not invite you here.

And for your part, you’d have the sense and wouldn’t come

what with HAARP defense systems

and every kind of offensive weapon,

biologically or chemically primed -

to preemptively, act; ask questions later.

prospective visitors from far or near

Beware!

This is not a safe zone for others

of any sort.

As it is, even our own

refugees and migrants get short shrift.

Barricaded borders in the stratosphere,

 on land and in cyberspace

are clear reflection and projection

of our fear-based, siege mindsets

both aggressive and territorial.

 

We assault our neighbours

(even our beloveds)

colonize land and assets of others.

Lie and cheat in aid of greed

and only come to any sort of deal

for a heinous price.

 

Suspicion, connivance, hidden agendas

and profiteering are the measure

 of our diplomatic skill and charm,

the standards of our government toffs,

moguls and collective morals.

 

Dear galactic brothers and sisters

we cannot welcome you.

We have soiled our own nest

and are busy wrecking the entire habitat

and endangering all lifeforms.

 

We even got as far as considering

(to  colonise or dredge for minerals)

the possibilities of microbes on Mars

or Jupiter’s moon

but with only acquisition in mind.

We are not fit for or ready for

mature responsibilities:

unable to think in the interest of others,

or the longer term: the wider good.

Evolutions juvenile hominids

incapable of and unripe for

galactic citizenship.