Linking with Poets United for Midweek Motif ~ Lady Liberty and also The Sunday Muse for week #11 Come join us!
For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. ~Martin Luther
It seems when we expand any direction something becomes smaller
like ice in a glass of water
it melts and disappears from what we see
So we trade trade trees for skyscrapers
in the name of freedom
we build in brick and mortar
high and wide
at the cost of the liberty of trees
they disappear one by one
mile by mile
acre by acre
into shopping centers and malls
one man's gain is another's loss
but in the bigger scheme of things
the loser is truly us all.
***************************************************************
Lady Liberty,
Her name is Liberty
and she is stoic like trees
head held high
standing for all that is beautiful
and all we hold dear
crowned by good
and brotherhood
we remember her name
but have forgotten
the sound of her voice.
I ache as the trees come down. In my tiny corner, people fought to save the last remaining forests, but when I travel out, the slopes grow bare on the way to town. I so love the closing lines of your second poem: we have indeed forgotten the sound of liberty's voice. She is being drowned out by the mayhem of the current regime, drunk with greed and power. Gah.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful image!
ReplyDeleteOur town is expanding a lot...a lot a lot...
I want more trees.
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIn Toronto, we had to chop some many majestic trees, to various insect infestations that have left our canopy barren of these proud members of nature.
ReplyDeleteSo heartbreaking. 'Losers' is the word to describe a section of mankind hell bent on destructing this planet. After reading two poems I feel liberty is living in the voice and words of poets. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI like the reminder that we’ve forgotten her voice-so poignant.
ReplyDeleteThe sacrifice of trees for cities is a crying shame.😕
Trees are constantly vanishing from sight. So sad. We truly have forgotten an important voice.
ReplyDeleteThank you for both poems--we need to hear the voices of the trees and the voice of Lady Liberty. Very insightful!
ReplyDeleteSo very true. I live very close to a koala corridor here in Australia and so much of the koalas habitat has been lost to development. It's beyond sad.
ReplyDeleteJoni Mitchell comes to mind.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=xWwUJH70ubM
Beautiful writing. I DO prefer trees to skyscrapers any day. Indeed we are all losers when the trees are cut down.
ReplyDeleteAnd, alas, we HAVE forgotten the sound of Lady Liberty's voice. Or maybe she tears have replaced the strong voice she used to have.
There is danger, don't you think, in forgetting Liberty's voice?
ReplyDelete