In the forest, I sit still so long
that everything forgets that I am there.
I hear
rustling : small creatures dart
among the leaves;
chewing: some lucky critter
found something to eat.
An elusive, wary deer
slowly steps among the trees;
the river is calling to bear
and eagle: salmon
for their supper.
I'm told that ants "sing"
by rubbing their
back legs
over their abdomen.
over their abdomen.
I listen hard
at the base of a tree:
almost, I think I hear
its tiny voice.
I see them, now,
in this new light:
living their industrious lives
with moments of song,
until a careless footstep
snuffs them out.
The world is slowly dying:
choking in pollution,
strangling in radioactive waste,
heating and burning up
at alarming rates,
and yet Mother Nature
and all her creatures
go about their day
still trying to live,
doing what they have done
for millennia,
before we came.
Do they know, as we do,
(I think they do)
(I think they do)
about the slow extinction
of species and soundscapes
as we humans encroach upon
the natural world
with our voracious appetites?
When I heard
the ant singing,
my heart broke in two
at his trust, his belief,
his too-short future,
his plight,
the same as ours.
for the Tuesday Platform at Real Toads
Oh that twist in the middle, breaking the illusion and slapping us with the hard reality of what we as a species have done. I am somewhat comforted knowing some form of life will exist after we are done, but how many other species will we take with us in our stupidity.
ReplyDeleteThe same as ours, but much more innocent ...
ReplyDeleteI wish the whole world would think like you write, Sherry. We have politicians who are ISIS minded in that they tear down in minutes all the progress that has been made in years.
ReplyDeleteIt tugged at me,
"yet Mother Nature
and all her creatures
go about their day
still trying to live,
doing what they have done
for millennia,
before we came"
Poor trusting creatures. And yes, they may know.
..
I do wonder if other creatures know of our species destructive influence on this world of ours Sherry, I tend to think not, but do realise that many are afraid of us as we encroach on their land, their habitat – and their fear is justified.
ReplyDeleteWhen we finally destroy ourselves, I wonder who will take our ‘Alpha’ role and whether this power will be destructive too…
Anna :o]