• Contact
  • About
  • ISSN 3049-9739
  • Authors and editors
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
EVENTS
West England Bylines
Advertisement
  • Home
    • Get involved
  • News
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Business
  • Features
  • Region
VIDEO
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • Get involved
  • News
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Business
  • Features
  • Region
No Result
View All Result
West England Bylines
Home Features Climate Emergency

This story needs no hero

Richard Wain says that the world needs no hero to save it, it just needs you and me to take care of it.

Richard Wain by Richard Wain
8 January 2024
in Climate Emergency, Poetry
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Heroes fight it out - King Lip on Unsplash

Heroes fight it out - King Lip on Unsplash

Share on Bluesky

This world was once in harmony
And somehow we Let it Go
Now even Elsa can’t re-freeze
The polar ice and snow

No hammer blow from Mighty Thor
Can stop the storms from growing
No thunderbolt can calm the rains
Or prevent the winds from blowing

There is no prince Bellerophon
To slay this gross Chimera
No feet of Herculean strength
Brings balance any nearer

Our suicidal thirst for wealth
The Stark warnings from history
No Ironman can break the bonds
Between great power and industry

No Dr Who can save us from
This self inflicted fate
We have the chance to bring new life
But we EXTERMINATE

The name is Earth, Planet Earth
And it’s license is to live
We need no secret agent
We have boundless love to give

It may take eight billion Doctors
But still it’s not too late
To open up our Tardis hearts
And to regenerate

This story needs no hero
It just needs you and me
To see our world for what it is
And then to let it be


We want to hear your views. Please send any comments to editor@westenglandbylines.co.uk

Previous Post

Interviewing South Oxfordshire Councillors

Next Post

PR and the ‘far right’

Richard Wain

Richard Wain

Richard is a storyteller, poet and author of Beyond the Brink is the Beginning. As well as being a part of the Thrutopia writing collective, he regularly publishes spoken word stories about navigating life's little dramas as a man, a father and a reluctant businessman (see lifeslittledramas.com). Richard is also one of the directors of Fatherhoods - an organisation that aims to support men's mental health through stimulating open, vulnerable conversations between men.

Related Posts

A battered Union Jack
Poetry

What Britain Means to Me

by Bob Copeland
9 September 2026
Collage of tabloid newspaper front pages with bold headlines and photos, including a suited man, a surfer, and beach scenes.
Climate Emergency

Could this be the beginning of the end for the billionaire-owned media propaganda blitz?

by Jason Scott Warren
20 August 2026
Forest fire burning through a dense forest, flames lapping between dark tree trunks at dusk.
Climate Emergency

The climate crisis: a war on the world

by Paul Ryder
19 August 2026
Sun radiates through a circular opening in fluffy clouds, casting warm golden light across the sky.
Book Reviews

Climate: the fate of the world in four recent books

by Steve Dawe
15 August 2026
A view of Earth from space
Climate Emergency

Life on Earth – extraordinarily rare!

by Erik Änggård
29 July 2026
Next Post
Europe map - Wikimedia - CC BY-SA 3.0

PR and the ‘far right’

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDER

BROWSE BY TAGS

Advice Arctic Artificial Intelligence Autism Best for Britain Brexit Bristol climate Climate Change Community Cotswolds Craftivism Democracy Development Domestic Violence Economics Education Environment EU Farage Flood Gaza General Election Global Warming Housing Human Nature Oxford Pedestrian Planning pollution Populism Press release Private Equity Putin Region sewage technology Traffic Transport Trump University of Oxford VAWG video Westbury People's Gallery World War II
West England Bylines

We are a not-for-profit citizen journalism publication. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in West England and beyond.

West England Bylines is a trading brand of Bylines Networks Limited which is separate to, but allied with, Byline Times.

Learn more about us

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Authors and editors
  • Complaints
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Get involved
  • Letters
  • Privacy
  • Network Map
  • Network RSS Feeds
  • Submission guidelines
  • Download the Bylines Network App

© 2020-2026 West England Bylines. Powerful Citizen Journalism. ISSN 3049-9739

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Europe
    • Health
    • Media
    • Transport
    • World
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Farming
    • Technology
    • Trade
  • Features
    • Broken Britain
    • Climate Emergency
    • Ukraine Conflict
    • Women in Focus
  • Politics
    • Democracy
    • Electoral Reform
    • Equality
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
  • Society
    • Book Reviews
    • Culture
    • Dance
    • Food
    • Heritage
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Sport
  • Region
    • Bristol and Bath
    • Gloucestershire
    • Herefordshire and Worcestershire
    • Oxfordshire
    • Swindon
    • Wiltshire
    • Society
  • Opinion
  • Cartoons
  • Events
  • Sewage Watch
  • Get involved
  • Authors and editors

Newsletter sign up

CROWDFUNDER

© 2020-2026 West England Bylines. Powerful Citizen Journalism. ISSN 3049-9739