hinarising

Cape Fear River, North Carolina

Our National Forests,

Earth’s forests,

Are just outside our cities,

Rivers and hills

And mountains rising up

Like they have forever,

Despite tunnels,

And traffic,

And high wires,

And cellphone towers

Running through them.

Earth still gives

As she always has,

Her dark patches of trees

Calling us into her arms

To soak in her languid waters

And breathe deep,

Her still airs quieting our souls

In a way that ringing colonial axes

For cabins and axels and population growth

Could not defeat.

But Drilling,

But Frackers Fracking.

You would mow her down

With ear splitting sounds,

And rape her

Over and over and over again

Until the puncture wounds are too great to bear,

You would force her,

Inject her,

Oozing with your toxic poisons

That can’t be washed away

Until she is broken,

But still giving,

You would take her beauty

To fuel your manhood

Until she has given it all away.

And the sun and wind,

The sun and the wind would still be free.

In response to Senator Ted Cruz–National Forests are not for sale

Karen K. L. Espaniola                                    July 11, 2014