A Timely Revolution

The journey of water Grey clouds in the sky are heavy with rain It falls to the earth on thirsty terrain Some falls in the forest, some falls on the field The plants are all grateful and increase their yield Rivulets form and run down into creeks From forests that flourish on ranges and peaks Soil creatures rejoice, all nature gives thanks Reservoirs fill as do lakes, dams and tanks Puddles are many and frogs lay their eggs Toddlers in gumboots splash rain up their legs Umbrellas pop up to keep our clothes dry But our water’s in crisis. Let me explain why Our great forests are felled, some ranges lay bare There’s nothing to hold the soaking rain there The soil can’t absorb it there’s no humus left A vital component of which it’s bereft It rushes in torrents down the hillside And gauges scars in the land in its wild downhill ride To the creeks and rivers the rainwater goes tumbling It’s barely contained, river banks start crumbling Gone are the tree roots that once held them in place Angry and turgid the flood picks up pace I’m sure you can guess what the outcome will be What makes this happen? Read on and you’ll see Our disappearing forests are the lungs of the earth They prevent climate change, but now there’s a dearth We can expect more floods, fires and weather events Increased temperatures and droughts. A bleak future presents Now let’s go back in our journey to where rain fell on farms On crops and on pasture on livestock and barns What changes occurred there that should cause concern Let’s investigate thoroughly so we can learn On the journey through farmland many poisons were met On the leaves, grass and soil, and once they were wet The poisons washed into the water and ran Into the waterways of the cities of man. Chemicals in farming have some “time saving” features But they’re toxic to microbial life and soil creatures Are farmers to blame for this state of affairs? In the case of pollution is the fault solely theirs? Let’s look at our contribution, though to us it seems small Water is piped to our houses and is accessible to all As long as water comes out when we turn on the tap We don’t care to know more or to look at a map To see the journey of water and how it got there We live in the city, why should we care? We bathe in it, wash with it and do all our cleaning Our plants and our lawns with grey water are greening. Our cleaning compounds and chemical “stuff” Gurgle down plug holes, it seems we can’t get enough Adverts promised more clean for less effort, in less time as well So we have more free time, but what didn’t they tell? In our quest for more time and cleaning with ease Was it mentioned that pollution causes disease As our wash water disappears down the drain Do we remember that it was once rain? Would we drink it now, I doubt we would dare But fish in the creek do when it ends up there They haven’t much choice, nor do the frogs As they struggle to survive in the swamps and the bogs It’s easy to point and blame pollution on others But we are in this together we are all brothers Soil creatures, livestock, fish, frogs and us All suffer together, now let us discuss Are our dilemmas caused by nature or man, you decide Could we manage land better, who’ll be our guide? Politics, economics, convenience, science To live in harmony with nature we must form an alliance A stronger connection is what we all need Connection with nature, disconnection from greed Let us start with the air the water and ground What things can we do to turn all this around?