Silent Spring

(For M.R.C. and Rachel Carson)

The noise of our suburbia is driving me insane,

With every kind of motor cutting through my brain,

Everybody’s busy taming their wild,

But I don’t want tame you nature’s only child

Everybody’s mowing, blowing, and tending to their lawn,

Instead of stopping to enjoy the leaves before they’re gone,

Spraying toxic pesticides, obsessed with artificial green,

Unaware of all the living things so small they lie unseen

Today our species meets our greatest adversity,

And we’re destroying our one ally – biological diversity!

And impacting our health, I can tell you that for sure,

Here we are creating cancer to make money on a cure

They all want to game, lame, and tame their little wild,

But I don’t want to shame you nature’s only child.

So let the leaves fall where they’ll remain in May,

And let the season claim this Indian summer day

And I will plant a native garden inside your native breast,

As we look to the North, South, East, and West,

Behold the sacred circle of yellow, red, black, and white,

Hold me close before this autumn day turns to a winter night.

And before I take the long walk, let me please ask of you,

Can we end sound pollution and pesticide use too?

Can we do it for our children? They are counting on you too.

Let’s lock every gas-powered leaf blower into every last shed,

And start to pay attention to what we’re being fed

Above all, let us join to make peace our priority,

And listen to the birds over the blah blah of authority.

I will ask again, over the bellowing noise,

Can we be silent for a moment,

And listen to the little chirping birds,

For there is ancient wisdom

Hidden in their words.