(Featured image: stranded pilot whale. Credit Franzi Richter, used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
They slip quietly into extinction
Little fragile ones,
Dusky seaside sparrows,
Mission blue butterflies.
Great peaceful giants,
Elephants, whales.
Earth’s jubilant mosaic,
Dimming.
We have,
As sharks in a blood frenzy
Drawn in for the kill,
Put a price
On all that is bright and beautiful.
Ivory, fur, flesh, feathers.
As moneylenders in the temple
Life is our stock exchange.
I would,
With the heaviness of my pain,
With the flood of my tears,
Purge Earth.
I would make the forests green again.
Cleanse the oceans
Wash the clouds and the winds.
And, in the ecstasy of love,
Listen to the Earth sing again.
