They Don’t Know Who Did This
But we know who did this
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Plastic and garbage, clogging the sea.
The fish don’t know who did this.
But we know who did this.
Thick sludge of oil, coating the waves.
The sea birds don’t know who did this.
But we know who did this.
Acres of trees, clear-cut and hauled away.
The forest doesn’t know who did this.
But we know who did this.
Icebergs melting with unprecedented speed.
The polar bear and her calf don’t know who did this.
But we know who did this.
Meadows and fields, destroyed every day.
The bees don’t know who did this.
But we know who did this.
Drought and floods and ravaging fires.
Confusion, terror, and loss of wild lives.
They will never know who did this.
But we know who did this.
I know I am not alone in feeling great grief and fear for the way our precious earth is being destroyed: ocean, forest, wild meadows, and so many places of natural beauty that animals call home and are a source of comfort and exhilaration for humans as well.
I don’t understand those who seem to ignore the crisis our earth is facing. Who won’t recognize once and for all that we, mankind, are the major culprits in the destruction of the natural world and all the creatures, including ourselves, who live here.
There are catastrophic disasters all around the globe, resulting in loss of natural habitat for flora and fauna, as well as loss of home and life for people as well.
And there are much smaller losses, closer to my home. The loss of a beautiful meadow may seem insignificant to some facing more dramatic losses. But in the piece below, I write of the loss I still feel every time I pass the place where once a vibrant meadow served as home to countless creatures, large and small:
