By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2021

First published in Pangolin Review Issue 19 (June 22, 2021)

Who will be there to answer
its playful mating call
when the last red panda chirps
as groves of bamboo fall?

Who will heed the sawing cry
of Amur leopard in the air
as it hunts snow-swept taiga
without kindred in its lair?

Who will requite the sonar
of vaquita porpoise undersea
as it roams the Sea of Cortez 
robbed of pod to share its glee?

Who will sing the song
of sunbird in mountain mist
bursting through rhododendrons
bereft of lovers that exist?

Who will sooth the anguish
of lonely lowland gorilla’s howl
as it lumbers through logged jungle
finding no brethren in its prowl?

Who will answer to the pain
of black rhino’s fateful day
when it trumpets for its mate
slain for ivory to display?

Will you?  
If so, what will you say?