By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2020
First published in Academy of the Heart and Mind on November 9, 2020
From polar bears on ice caps,
to addax in desert sands,
from Bengal tigers in the forests,
to prairie dogs in the grasslands;
From giant ibis in the marshes,
to California condor in the sky,
from hawksbill turtles in the oceans,
to black rhinos in moorlands high;
From giant catfish of the Mekong,
to river dolphins of the Amazon,
from snow leopards of the Himalayas,
to African river prawn:
These irreplaceable creatures simply yearn to co-exist
in their natural circles of life with kin,
so that eco-systems do not vanish from our midst
and they not be slain for tusks or skin.
They battle each day to endure and survive
climate change, rank pollution and clearing of land,
conditions and forces they did not contrive —
melting ice, warming seas and draining marshland.
Stalked by poachers and hunters despite all bans,
slain for ivory and horns with dubious power,
claimed as medicines, jewelry and talismans,
or for rugs and mounts, stroking egos that tower.
With thousands of endangered species threatened to disappear
and this number growing by hundreds year after year,
a poetic appeal for silent animals and plants,
who cannot plead for life – voiceless supplicants.