A Time We Cannot Bring Back

we are children:
spilling poison into our rivers chopping 
trees our oxygen lifeline swallowing 
land and spitting out rusted heaps 
of used cars, building boxes to die in -
railway lines encroach on purple lupins dirty
stones keep out grass and plants and
everywhere there is dirt and 
stifled imagination beauty forbidden, for
gotten, in a mad dash for money
power peeling paint and city trees look
weary, worn, old the discarded cannot
shine without hope, the strange thing
is we do this to us rebounding we
are our environment meshed within
its parts living breathing we
cannot stand back, pretend we 
do not kill ourselves when we
unbalance nature in our unbalanced
way to fall heavily full of 
regret and moan for a time we
cannot bring back

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