I hate the way the street lights kill the stars
The hedgehogs hide, scared for their life
They pave over the roots and call it progress
Then wonder why the hives have died
The rivers choke beneath our waste
The bees can’t find a flower in spring
We leave the wild behind, cutting trees and saying it’s needed
When the earth is silenced, destruction they bring
I miss the dark between the branches
The Rolling Stones, the untouched ground
A world where nature wasn’t fighting
A world where bugs can roam unbound
I hate the way smoke stains the moon a bruised grey
The way chainsaws bite through ancient life
If we could learn from the wisdom of the trees
We’d learn a thousand lessons on how to be
We are one, part of nature
But the earth stands trembling, scared for what’s to come
What fragment will be shattered next, what secrets unearthed,
What ransom it will hold?
All in the name of exploiting,
until there’s nothing left to take
The forests burn beneath black skies,
The rivers cough up bottles and oil
We watch the green world slowly die
Until the soil is lifeless,
the earth gasps
For one last breath
Holly Hughes
.