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Our collection of tree stories, for Tea for Trees, continues – this week with a poem.
By Sommer O’Rourke
if a tree falls in a forest , as the saying goes
if no one sees it happen , no one ever knows
or so it would suppose …
no one to witness the splintering sound
of a 100 year old tree falling down or
the screams of the birds , as nests hit the ground
no one to see the carnage and debris,
the soil and stream contaminated, destruction abound
We try to bring awareness to the bustling towns
of what happens deep in the forest when no ones around
machinery desecrating sacred sites ,
truck tires replacing mountain bikes
Petroleum in the stream glistens in the light
like the sparkle in the eye of a greater glider in flight
and when all the creatures come out at night
to see their home decimated , piled up , no longer upright
the empty forest gaping like a wound bathed in moonlight
and this is just the beginning of the fight
wait for the environmental decay it will invite
the future bushfires it will ignite ,
the biodiversity loss it will incite ,
the greed and evil it will delight …
We must stand up and say with all our might ,
that this cannot go on , that this is not alright
There is no fair fight with people who value money over life
These aren’t a mere pile of leaves ,
This is the future of the air we breathe
These aren’t just innocent earth movers ,
these are the takers of our futures
They weren’t just logs to cut and divide
They were once living beings , they were alive
Where do we separate timber from tree ?
wood from bark ? flesh from meat ?
Where is the line of the defeat ?
when there’s no more food for animals to eat ?
when the forest is a hologram with electronic bird tweets ?
What will be our forest in fifty years ?
Made into tissues to wipe away your tears .
How will you soothe your children’s fears ?
By ignoring the fires growing ever near .
What were you doing while the forest dies ?
Probably believing the corporate lies
Designed to subdue while they incentivize
Virgin forests , innocent life ..
Its never been harder to turn a blind eye .
The flames lick the beginning of a collapse
One day we’ll cut too much away and there’s no coming back
The forest will regrow , There ‘ll be many a bee
but what wont be here is you and me
but after all do we deserve to be ?
We destroy our earth for something as meaningless as money
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around ,
does it make a sound ?
Ask the forestry loggers as they cut them to ground .
