"LORDS OF THE WILD" by Jackie L. Tajiri

Do not bore me
With tales and images
Of your children and grandchildren,
Nay!
My voice sings the praises
Of creatures of Earth and sky,
Of rain forests and deserts;
The non-humans,
Furred, feathered, finned
And scaled;
They are my brothers and sisters,
Sons and daughters;
Heed the wise mantis,
The meow of the cat,
Do you not hear their cries?
Up in the trees,
Under the ground,
Above the ground,
Birds, bats and insects,
They rule the air!
Fish and whales,
The sea!
Man is but a subject
In the Kingdom of the wild;
To their squawks, roars and howls,
Humankind is deaf;
To the beauty above,
Below and all around,
Homosapiens are blind,
Upon this Earth,
Mortal man limps to his doom;
His so-called wisdom is washed away
In this tide.

-Jackie L. Tajiri
August 12, 2012