When the very last bird is left singing in the sky
and the very last fish has been tasted,
when the last mountain stream has trickled bone dry
maybe then man will see what’s been wasted.
When the very last honey bee has been plagued
and rain forests raped, and worse.
When the last wild beast has been tamed and caged –
Will man realise he can’t eat his purse?
If all the insects disappeared
then we’d all be dead in fifty years.
If tomorrow mankind was wiped from the earth
in fifty years, all other species would be much better off
Maybe when blooms have lost their perfume,
and toxic fumes threaten our health.
Maybe when the moon no longer sparks tunes
man will laud forces greater than himself.
One day, there will be no day
for not one person will have woken.
On that day a gracious sun will start healing a planet that was broken.
(This piece was inspired by Native American philosophy.)
The words of Peter Akinwunmi (Peter Ak'i) 