The Country Sighed

There are sparrows in the hedgerows All aflutter and sounding distraught, Twittering and constantly muttering Over things that Man has wrought, His philosophy over the years show In our own cunning we’ve been caught. ‘Accelerate the growth of food, The wheat and corn and rye, Force feed soils with chemicals And watch stalks touch the sky.’ But the ground seemed to move And heave a heavy sigh. There are salmon and rainbow trout Swimming up river and stream Eager to avoid the fisherman’s hook And evade his cherished dream; And if you stand still and listen carefully, You can almost hear them scream. ‘Reel in all the fishes, On their flesh we’ll have our fill, Don’t worry about tomorrow There’ll be some left still.’ And the stream seemed to shiver At Man’s cold and callous will. There are those who look at hedgerows And rivers when on a country walk And, carefully considering the countryside They recoil, it makes them baulk; If the country had a voice they wonder, Of what words would it talk?