In 1997 I woke up one night in September and wrote this poem in about 15 minutes. It has had a deep impact on my life ever since.
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The Warning
In days of
yore, in depths of time
When
all the world was wholly mine
The
beasts and birds, the rolling grass
The
vales and streams, the mountain pass
The
sky above, the sea below
The
arctic ice where blizzards blow
T’was
then, in joy in all that was
I
clear conceived a wondrous cause
To
know a creature who could see
All
the things that came from me
A
sunset’s glow and waterfalls
A
stormy night and lightning balls
Who’d
wonder at the evening star
And
question what those night lights are
Who’d
gasp with joy at canyons grand
And
seek the peace of seashore sand
I
molded him from primate clay
And
shaped her spirit for the day
When
moved by beauty seen without
Her
soul within would leap to shout
And
he, from urgings deep inside
Sung
music that his soul had cried
I
gave them minds to grasp a thought
And
hands to grasp the things they wrought
For
forty thousand years or more
On
tundra steppe and forest floor
They
lived as part of what I’d made
In
cave and hut, with chipped stone blade
Their
lives were hard, but still were good
I
gave them joy, I gave them food
I
gave them beauty in the land
They
gave me thanks with both their hands
They
hunted for the bison strong
And
gathered grains from grasses long
They
saw my moon hung in the sky
And
watched the eagle circling high
They
learned the way of beast and bug
Of
mastodon and trout and slug
They
learned which plants would heal their woes
The
willow’s bark, the hips of rose
In
gratefulness they slew their prey
Then,
thankful for their food that day
Expressed
their thanks in art and dance
Or
mimicked there the elk-herd prance
Or
left the earth some pretty gift
Upon
some seaward facing cliff
They
knew that all the things they ate
Were
gifts to them from Heaven’s gate
Then
once, ten thousand years ago
A
bag of seed was somehow sowed
Upon
a patch of broken dirt
As
hunters did with farming flirt
And
someone caught a baby cow
And
raised it to adult somehow
And
ever after changed the face
Of
how did live the human race
No
longer did you hunt and seek
To
find the things that you would eat
But
rather did you farm and herd
Taming
tree and beast and bird
You
owned the things that once were mine
The
hillock high, the vale sublime
You
chained the streams and rivers too
Built
dam, canal, and lock, and slough
You
carved my land for highways long
Bored
tunnels deep through mountains strong
You
killed my bison for their hides
And
filled my streams with pesticides
You
filled my sky with stench and smoke
And
caused my creatures all to choke
You
spilled my oil upon my sea
And
killed my whales, so huge and free
To
fill your pockets with my gold
You
tore down mountains tall and bold
And
scarred my earth to dig my coal
With
piles of slag and gaping holes
You
claimed that all you saw was thine
To
kill and maim, to dig and mine
You
set yourselves apart from me
And
o’er my world claimed sovereignty
How
patiently I watched you grow
Who
once did hunt and now did sow
I
spoke to you by prophets bold
Who
for your wayward ways did scold
You
built up temples large and grand
And
slaughtered for me beast and man
And
by these things you sickened me
Bu
still I left you growing free
So
then you found creative ways
To
send each other to the grave
With
sword and spear and bomb and gun
With
gas and germs, you’ve had your fun
You
filled my sky with birds of war
You
filled my ears with cannons' roar
With
chemicals you killed my trees
That
snipers you might better see
My
patience now draws to an end
No
longer can I call you friend
You
threaten all that I have made
The
tidal pool, the forest glade
And
with that worst monstrosity
You
threaten all that you can see
For
on that fateful Summer day
When
Hiroshima went away
You
told me that I could not trust
The
human race and that I must
Protect
my world from what you are
A
cancer and a source of war
The
end is near, do not delude
Yourselves
or cop an attitude
But
if you seek to still survive
Then
turn to me to live your lives
You
share the rock on which you stand
You
do not own the sea or land
The
air about you is not thine
Nor
rivers as they sea-ward wind
You
do not own the grass and trees
The
birds and beasts belong to me
The
mountains high, the valleys low
Are
mine to tend the things they grow
My
anger grows with every puff
Of
factory smoke or toxic stuff
Dumped
in rivers dammed and stopped
With
dirt and slag, with muck and glop
With
every tree that’s sacrificed
To
print an ad for PC mice
Or
jungle burned for farming land
Or
dolphin killed for tuna canned
The
end is near, be not deceived
Despite
what some of you believe
I
can defend what is my own
Your
self-defense is overblown
Catastrophes
will come from me
Your
scientists will never see
And
when the human terror ends
I
will begin my world to mend
