The Phoenix Will Rise

If the Forest only knew

That its branches breed fire

That its vines string bows

That its soil bares blood

From ne’er sought after foes.

That it shelters crooks and thieves

That its once strong oaks,

Lay razed in the age of modernity

That its rivers flow tainted

with our indiscriminate pesticide.

That mankind’s misshapen footprint is

Implanted prominently in its hide.

I sit under a wise and gnarled tree

I ask, “If only the forest knew,

Would it grow shrewd?

Would the plush green

turn to poisonous red?

Would more families struggle

with mouths unfed?

Why can we destroy so much and

Claim to prolong the world’s end?