Where the Antelope (Used To) Play

Where the antelope used to play is now shopping malls and plats. Man in his insatiable greed has encroached upon its ancient habitats. Not so very long ago on the plains just a few miles out of town, Were herds of these graceful creatures that now have dwindled down. Also, pushed from the verdant plains are the mighty buffalo, That grazed upon the lush, green grasses not so very long ago. Upon these sacred grazing grounds are now concrete parking lots, And densely cluttered cookie-cutter houses on quarter-acre plots. Where have all the magnificent wild turkeys gone, That used to preen and strut about at the break of dawn? Even the lowly prairie dogs, their burrows they've had to flee, To accommodate covetous developers who've gone on a building spree. Of the wily fox and skulking coyote, there are fewer to be seen. They were forced from their hunting grounds and have fled the scene. Desperate flocks of grouse and pheasant have also taken flight, To raise their young elsewhere, escaping mans' spreading blight. Deer and elk that once peered shyly from almost every copse; Their environs now occupied and overrun with tacky shops. 'Twould be novel if man would recall that these creatures were here first, And consider them when pursuing their unquenchable expansion thirst! Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired (© All Rights Reserved)