Rapa Nui Syndrome

Rapa Nui
Also known as
Easter Island
Is claimed to be
The most remote
Inhabited island
In the world
It is the home of
The Bird Man Cult and of
The giant sized
Man made sculptures
Known as
The Moai

Rapa Nui has been
Continuously occupied
By the Rapa Nuians
Since the earliest days
Of human history
(They rowed over
In their dug out canoes
From Chile
And they have since
Been officially
Annexed by Chile in 1888)
Rapa Nui is located
At the southeastern most point of
The Polynesian Triangle

Rapa Nui is most
Famous for its 887
Monumental statues
Called Moai
Representations of
The Ancient Ancestors
Thought to bring the
Islanders
Good luck and
Good fortune
If they were properly built
And were found to be
Pleasing to the
Polynesian gods
Though today
Rapa Nui has been declared
A World Heritage Site by
UNESCO
With much of the island protected
Within Rapa Nui National Park
In modern times
Rapa Nui
Has come to serve as a
Warning
Of the cultural and
Environmental
Dangers of
Overexploitation
Of the natural environment

In order to move the Moai
From the stone quarry
To the coast line
The Rapa Nuians
Chopped down
Every palm tree
On the island
(All 8 million of them!)
Thereby creating a
Colossal
Environmental catastrophe

Without the palm trees
The natives could not
Build their out rigger canoes
To go fishing
In the deep waters
Where the big fish swam
The island could no longer
Sustain the population
And the starving people
Turned to cannibalism

In a fit of rage and rebellion
The Rap Nuians
Overturned the now hated Moai
As symbols of the failed
Religious cult of ancestor worship

It does not require a
Great leap of imagination
To understand
That all of us humans
Who today share
The limited resources
Of this
Tiny blue green
Island world called
Planet Earth
Had better learn
The same lessons that the
Rapa Nuians
Had to learn the hard way
Before it is too late
For us all!
We are all
Rapa Nuians now!

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012