(See photo copyright and usage license information below.)

After We Are Gone

Will rivers wander ancient routes,
nurturing hills and valleys of their youth?

Will flowers extend scented tendrils
at the sound of bees buzzing?

Will the land bless its freedom
from concrete and steel,
from tarmac and depredation?

Will the earth forgive our desecrations?

Will a boundless carpet
of green trees, tall and shapely,
cool and purify the air with ease?

Will birds sing for joy
and bats fly free
from live wild animal markets?

Will whales cavort in clean water
for sheer bliss?

Will wolves reclaim their birthright?

Will rocks still pulse their seismic rhythms
to the beat of the human heart?*

Will the breeze blow sweet again?

Will any living creature
remember us with regret?

Except for part of one stanza, I wrote this poem before the pandemic.

*Listen to Castleton Tower vibrate.  It’s very calming.

Photo of Castleton Tower and The Rectory taken April 19, 2017 by copyright holder Ron Clausen.  I made no changes.
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