I often seek wild and natural places
Where I feel more awake and alive.
Life seems more precious somehow
When I’m just struggling to survive.
When warding off the cold at night
Or avoiding predators during the day,
I feel my ancient ancestors watching
Who lived their daily lives that way.
There’s a graceful communion in nature;
All the different life forms in a dance.
The simultaneous conflict and harmony
Of animals, insects, birds and plants.
If I can slow my mind and sit quietly
And become a part of that harmony
I can feel my place in the universe.
I’m a part of it and it’s part of me.
But I always must return again to the city
Where we humans work our lives away
As the wheel of progress crushes us
So we can create more bills to pay.
I always try to reconcile the human world
With the one that humans have left behind -
The natural world that is now being assaulted
For the material demands of the human mind.
And I wonder how long it can last –
All this progress for its own sake.
How much more can the earth give?
How much more abuse can it take?
It's our only home so we should protect it
But somehow, it rarely works out that way,
And all the damage we're doing to her now
Will be a terrible debt our children must pay.
I arrive home exhausted when the day is done.
Sticky tar and cement have no energy to give.
My little dog comes running over to greet me
Bursting with happiness just to play and live.
And I envy her natural joy and enthusiasm
For mine is so tainted by worries and doubt.
Yes, her mind is simple, so unlike my own,
But it makes me wonder what life is about.
Is there a better way to live and use this earth?
If there is, how will any one of us ever learn it?
Our societies, like us, are so set in their ways
And change never happens unless we earn it.
In the evening, my dog falls asleep at my feet.
I watch a doggy dream rolling across her face.
And I think of all the creatures out in the wild
And how long they’ll survive the human race.
Humans and animals are drifting alone in space
Together and apart on this tiny, delicate ball.
I don't know everything, but I do know this -
What happens to them will happen to us all.
Gold trophy winner
Honorable winner
Adding your comment:
) I can see you've put a lot of thought into this (whether while writing the poem or long before) and it is polished go a golden shine
