Woods by the River - Eddie Grierson (S)

The trees surround me,

Shading the light with their long, brown arms.

The birds, invisible, high above me in their bright blue Kingdon above, chirping down at me.

Sycamore, maple, ash and lime

And the apple tang of wood sorrel,

Almost untouched wilderness.

Almost.

For here I come, the sturdy wooden bridge leads Unto pastures green and grazed by sheep.

The gurgling water, twisting through boulders, Piled onto sand, a miniature rocky raft.

Jackdaws cooing in their all too numerous flocks, And swallows snapping at the midges.

Now the avian kingdom does reveal itself.

Now.

A hoverfly, which I have a passion for, That marvellow wasp-mimic.

The perfect yellow-black stripes

So no bird here dare consider "tasty snack".

Tits and finches in their bright tuxedoes, Blues, greens, yellows, blacks and reds.

To pick out friend from rival,

Species from Species.

Yes.

This rocky, beer like river seems

A place to look for wolf or bear.

But alas, come now, in Britain

They are no longer there.

For man, smug man, thinks he to be unique But he is just another mammal, another creature, And though he like or not He is the most destructive of them all.

And so they're gone, wolf and bear in Scotland, But others have, worldwide, already gone.

Extinct, forever, and so, it is our World That we must conserve.

Not us, our World

That we must conserve.