Progress?

I witness the baron plots of land,

denuded of its leafy green canopy that naturally cool,

shelter the birds and quiet our soul.

On the ravaged surface,

the dead trees lie strewn,

in a prone state,

stacked one upon the other like corpses.

The sun bakes them overhead.
The insects are full of bliss,

chewing, burrowing, invading the bark like a burglar.

Nearby a bulldozer digs a hole where a tree once stood.

We've seen this far too often.

Another building will soon call this land its home.

Humans call this progress.

I do not see the logic in that way of thinking.

Why do we only equate progress by the number of structures we build?

That department store adds to our economy,

but at what cost?

What has our natural world lost forever?

We only think in terms of monetary value

rather than environmental value.

The trees and birds would undoubtedly agree.

The hardened concrete and steel

erect these rigid structures and

solidifies man's close-mindedness towards the land.

The earth is not ours to plunder for artificial riches.

I seek a broader interpretation of progress.

I will advocate for our land's conservation, preservation and reclamation.

I think the trees and the birds would agree with me.

Let us expand our minds to enrich ourselves

with not just paper currency, but with natural currency.

The kind that is everlasting.

I'll walk through your park,

smell its flowers,

lay on its grass,

climb its trees,

dip my feet into its streams and

find peacefulness there that appeases my spirit.

We may not enjoy these natural wonders if

a slab of concrete replaces that park.

I know the trees and birds would agree with me.

Let us keep nature as it is,

safe from unnatural change at the hands of man and avarice.

I love to take walks around my home town.

The dirt roads,

the meandering creeks,

the occasional deer,

the towering trees whose history speaks volumes to me.

I find progress during these walks.

My heart, my mind and my soul

all expand from this natural knowledge all around me.

This is worth much more than money to me.

You may keep it my friend.

For I'll climb that tree,

throw that rock,

talk to that deer and

wade in that creek instead.