FOR THE FLICK OF A SWITCH

Weep willow weep
For even as you sleep
Man and his machine
Will steal your river
And you will wake to find
You’re crying in the desert

Damn you man, go to the sun
For your power
Reap the wind
Harness the ocean
But leave me in peace
Let me be

Strange said the swan
I’d this impression
That this lake was mine
Generations have pasted
Now you say I am the last

Damn you man, go to the sun
For your power
Just for the flick of a switch
You will take all this beauty
Turn it into a ditch

The swallow flew up
He yawned, he was bored
He’d seen it all before
The willow has wept
The mountain has slept
The river has rushed to the ocean
For years, shed no tears
The mighty have power
But the mighty they fall
And the meek inherit the earth

By Joy Faulkner