["If the current rate of deforestation continues,
80 to 90 % of the planet's rainforest will be gone
by 2020". Source: Rainforest Action Network]
I took the back way
into town today.
I love the winding road,
lined with forests,
lined with forests,
no traffic,
passing by horses
and llamas
and the occasional cow.
Sometimes a mama deer
slips out between the trees
with her babies,
and they tentatively
poke alongside the road,
munching sweetgrass.
This morning,
delightfully,
I watched
a yearling bear
lolloping alongside
the roadway.
He looked askance at me,
trying to determine
exactly what
kind of animal
this noisy metal
blue thing was.
Then I rounded
a corner,
and there were
flag people
and trucks
and heavy lifters.
They were
clearing trees
from a substantial
stretch of land
along the roadway
and all the way back,
eliminating trails
horses, riders,
dogs and people
have enjoyed for
fifty years.
Trees were down,
their roots
sticking up,
bleeding
clumps of earth.
It looked as if
they came out
painfully,
relinquished
their hold
unwillingly,
had tried to
hold on.
It looked
as if
the yellow machines
were pulling
the wisdom teeth
of the planet,
along with
all its wisdom.
The status quo
is relentless.
Knock 'em down
rip 'em out
quick
while we
still can!
I had to pull over
to breathe
just breathe
before I could
go on.
Do they think
oxygen
will still
be here
when all the
trees
are gone?
