In Remembrance of Lost Species

The Wolverine

source

Under the brilliant gaze of the Wolf Moon
last night, I heard them singing:
ghostsongs of departed creatures,
species forever gone
 - because of us -
with our rapacious demand for More,
invading and destroying their habitat,
eliminating their food sources,
taking, without respect,
without giving back
so that future generations might live.

Now the price comes due;
wildfires rage, floods cover the land,
volcanoes roar, earthquakes buckle.
Mother Earth gave generously,
but we abused the gift.
Now our mother will teach
her wayward children
lessons learned the hard way.

I stand on my balcony and listen for
the silenced song of the Eskimo curlew.
Almost, I hear the ghostly echoing hooves
of the vanished Dawson caribou,
see the darting shadow
of the Vancouver Island wolverine,
the tippy-toe of the black-footed ferret,
flitting among the trees
of the spirit-world,
where small universes of
bird and bug and plant
die out
- forever gone -
with every old-growth giant felled.

Farewell to the Greater Prairie Chicken,
to the small Karner blue butterfly.
Goodbye, goodbye,
to the dragonlake whitefish,
to the pygmy horned lizard,
to the Pacific gophersnake
and the western pond turtle.

Once, you were our respected
brothers and sisters. We lived with you
in harmony, with respect, but
then we lost our way.

Mea culpa, mea culpa.
I remember you.
I remember you.
Mea culpa.


4 BILLION species have gone extinct. 771 species are at risk, including 531 animals. And of course the staggering BILLION non-human lives lost in the Australian wildfires have been all I can think about this week. I am heartened that humans are dropping carrots down for the kangaroos that remain. But we need to start acting pro-actively, rather than responding to crisis. People who bemoaned the cost of switching to clean energy will be paying a much higher price fighting forces bigger than we can muster.

In Canada, on the brink of extinction are: the tiny marbeled murrelet, and the mighty orca, both of whose food sources have been decimated by commercial fishing. Also endangered are the caribou, the polar bear, the wild salmon (food for orcas), the spotted owl, and many more.

We must demand our legislators ACT to try to save what is left, or, at least, slow down this massive rush to extinction. Or we will soon be added to the endangered list. Sometimes I get so frustrated I just want to scream.

for Brendan at earthweal.

sources: CanadianEncyclopedia.ca; Macleans.ca