Follow the flow of the Tees
Meet the folk whose sweat
and tears shaped the land,
brought in the bounty,
shifted the steel to build
Better places.
Follow the flow of the Tees.
Meet the people who fish
in peace. Look for a seal or two.
See them bobbing, watching you
watching them. Observe them catching the
rays of the sun on the sand.
Follow the flow of the Tees
Day dream on the swirls and foam,
a moving picture on top of the murky depths.
Who would care to venture down?
Not me. I enjoy watching the wildlife
busy foraging for food as I pass by,
following the flow of the Tees.
In spring we come out to see life,
out from our long cold winter's nap.
Bears are so loving not wildlife.
Love can be grand.
I am your big fun bear asap,
you are my fury playful wife,
I love to see you in gift-wrap.
Tonight we need some fun nightlife,
eating fish not from a flytrap,
using my big claws not a knife,
Love can be grand.
Come her! Go there!
Chiff chaff! Chiff chaff!
Do this! Do that!
Chiff chaff! Chiff chaff!
Eat seed! Find nut!
Chiff chaff! Chiff chaff!
Have chicks! Make fat!
Chiff chaff! Chiff chaff!
Through twig! Through leaf!
Chiff chaff! Chiff chaff!
My song! I sing!
Chiff chaff! Chiff chaff!
On wing! On foot!
Chiff chaff! Chiff chaff!
It must be Spring!
Chiff chaff! Chiff chaff!
We see but grey where once was green
As bulldozers now scrape,
Turning a joyful rural scene
Into joyless landscape.
The area was green-belt land
With forest and pasture
But as our numbers still expand
We will invade nature.
And so that farmland must give way
To high profit housing.
Farming that land has had its day.
Let the plunder begin.
First rip up each ancient hedgerow,
Take living loam away.
Make space for luxury homes to go.
The wildlife then must stray.
Nests and burrows can play no part
As man now owns this space.
The construction work now can start
And big profits then chase.
Soon building projects in full swing.
The stream that filled the pond
Diverted to concrete piping
In culvert underground.
Aquatic habitats destroyed.
Frogs, toads and newts homeless.
Many wildlife species now void.
But man could not care less.
They burnt tons of tusks
But the felled beasts
Remained silent still
In the spirit realm
Watching the fire slowly
Consume pieces of themselves
Waiting quietly
In that realm
Where their glorious trumping
Is not perceptible to the living
Waiting patiently
For their brothers, sisters
Sons, daughters and
Pieces of themselves
To join them
In the silence of the spirits
A gentle wave from curling leaf watches in weakness.
Green slips from shore, a purchased release.
Tender roots wash with shuttered sounds.
Steals foundation to a diminished, poison grip.
Inundate with modern gift's inevitable disguise.
The last of life, extinction blazes black.
Down slips the rocky skirts beneath the liquid lip.
A mist of remembrance where stone nuture once lay.
Shriveled trunk, bloated limb, a silent fiasco
We were infinity, now the singularity
Last of our kind, the jewel of what was fading.
As humans watch with insufferable
Fun filled, each of my days,
I'm fulfilled, the harvest of my blessings is rife~
in my ways.
So, no excuse,
I'll scatter town like a wildlife ~
let loose!
No stress!
Even no strife~
Yes!
Fun-filled, each of my days,
I'll scatter town like a wildlife ~
Yes!
Our earthly realm of wonder and beauty
Observing its glory is our living duty
The most exquisite sight I have ever seen
Was a paradise island I have never been
A tiny green dot in the mighty ocean blue
Unleash your dreams and you may visit too
Just close your eyes and raise your sail
You’ll be carried there by a windy gale
I came ashore to electric blue plankton glow
Greeted upon arrival to a bioluminescent show
Beach sand glinted with a hue so golden
A majestic visual treat that left me beholden
Birds of flamboyant colour stunned me aghast
Exotic green jungle so lush, dense, and vast
I discovered an abundance of tropical trees
Many splendrous species, quite keen to please
I decided to dwell there, in a cabin of bamboo
Cruising immaculate streams in my little dented canoe
At night, I marvelled, as the cosmos triumphantly danced
Sitting serenely by my campfire, euphorically entranced
I awoke that morning in blissful peace
For I conjured an idyllic place, never to cease
It exists within my beating heart and my musing mind
Every time I close my eyes and dream, paradise I find
More rural space becomes an urban scar
As man’s machines arrive and start to scrape
Through living loam down to the dead grey clay.
Hedges ripped out and carted off to tip,
Trashing nests and burrows right from the start.
The babbling brook that supplied the small pond
Is piped to concrete culvert underground
Destroying one more vital habitat.
Now soon we see lots of luxury homes.
Synthetic stone and bright white PVC
With neat lawns made of bright green plastic grass
Ready to place a puerile plastic gnome.
No longer do we see dark sky at night,
The Milky Way being masked by amber glow.
With space to spare commercial buildings come.
More rural space becomes an urban scar.
bright ruby and green
flash dance across the garden.
humming and twirling
sipping from flowers
they zigzag helter-skelter
savoring each drop
chirping their pleasure
as they drink nature’s treasure
suddenly they’re gone
My Bad
They used our Courage
Like a Weapon
Made our Kindness
And Tolerance
VERSUS Fear
Seem Naive.
Our Health and Safety
Were NEVER THEIR
CONCERN!
Oh, well, too late.
I learned that from
Squirrels and Scrub Jays
I fed peanuts to.
Sorry, but you all look
So cute!
-Gray Squirrel
02/18/24
quick sight… caught
a creamy, frothy tail
skulking behind bins
caramel
this creeping tod
wry trickery, claw
prowl and sly, brazen
he's getting too brave
soon…
a knock on the door
The utter splendour of garden life
Encompassed by nature, calm and serene
A sanctuary away from all that strife
What a pleasure it has been!
Wondrous sounds competing all around
With eyes closed, I listen in
Standing barefoot upon grassy ground
A blissful deluge has me in a spin
A lonely droplet descends from above
Splash! A pond ripples of a glistening fluid
Hidden within a small meadow grove
A droplet lost in a swirling multitude
Ponds, hedgerows, and colourful meadows
An array of habitats, for one and all
The river sparkles as it flows
A falcon glides, I hear his call
Duelling dragonflies have set the scene
Blooms of yellow, blue, and vibrant lime
And all the hues found in between
A magical moment captured in time
This enchanting space touched the hearts of many
A slice of heaven for all who stood within
A defining place along my spiritual journey
It resonates deep beneath my skin
Are they angry, annoyed
with alien landed gentry?
Are they just playing
a game shared, taught?
The fields all covered in golden brown.
Natures beauty all around.
Deers jumping throughout the wheat.
The crop has groomed so very neat.
Beyond the wheat, the sky is blue.
The sun shines bright, no site of dew.
For every field you can see.
Wildlife roams so free.
Needing the green lands, for crops to grow.
No more building, land to sow.
For food is grown here.
A shortage would bring fear.
Beyond the wheat,corn, and other plants to.
Are grown so nicely for me and you.
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