When I stood in the forest
When I stood in the forest where leaves once fell
Wind blew dust into my teeth
Did I taste the wind or did the wind taste me
Sun shaft speared through clouds
A circular sign at my feet
Clouds tumbled and rolled above
Shadow dancing upon the ground
Then did the howl sound in the distance
That shrill cry of shame and dismay
Was it a wolf that drew closer
Warbling sound that bounced to and fro
Drawing ever closer this fearful saddened moan
'Til was so close I could no longer hide
From the fact the cry was in my mind
The howl was torn from my throat
Errors and warnings I had heard of this I see
For none are left standing neither here nor there
Everywhere I look I see nothing or a stump
I feel my soul slump as defeat lands nearby
The defeat unpleasantly resides in my mind's eye
Awaken...
Clear cut seemed so good when my pockets it lined
To erosion and climate change my eyes turned blind
Those creeping profits for land cleared and wood
My failure then seemed a success as surely it should
Broken and tattered here now I stand
Where once was a forest now only lies sand
My heart is a lump coal black and true
My land is worthless and I can't blame you
Awaken...
I feel the tickle from somewhere far away
My mind is fickle to stay this way
Awaken and realize this is only a dream
Or is this perhaps more than may seem
Awaken...
Tracing my past as I peer future wide
Can my actions influence the tide
By changing within do I also change without
Or should I remain living shrouded in doubt
You have your challenges and so I have mine
Yet only by acting together can truth we divine
We must stop our madness while we still have time
Drinking the poison we continue to pantomime
We give our duties to others we elect
Yet they only end up doing what they select
We must be responsible for our own acts one and all
For to continually blame others can only lead to a fall
Waken and embrace the truth whether good or ill
Let us shape the future and show it our force of will
On the day we do this you'll surely see
Together we can stand in the forest
Where we'll stare fondly at a tree
Image credit: Made by me using photoshop and some of my own image sources combined with sources from the internet.
soulfoodburninupyokitchen.wordpress.com
deforestation-kush.blogspot.com
6th image - www.youtube.com
7th image - www.fastcompany.com
9th image - www.skipprichard.com
10th image - www.pexels.com
Powerful. I was held entranced throughout the whole poem with your rhythm, and your imagery pulled me into the world you created. The message was delivered in a meaningful tone and clearly received. I felt the tears begin to build at points, and then you brought us up to be held in our own strength. Beautiful.
Thanks brother. It was one of those times something was calling to me to write it. That is primarily how things act for me when I write as @chaospoet.
I'm glad someone else saw what I was seeing.
Really cheesy picture collages, but it fits strangely well into a very meaningful whole :-) I wrote about something similar - if you're interested please check https://steemit.com/poetry/@tomorrows/an-original-poem-there-s-nothing-like-darkness :-)