The Underwater Tree
Updated on November 2, 2011
There was an underwater tree with spindly thin arms
An underwater tree that breathed like most trees could only dream of
a special sort of specimen that sat beneath the waves:
who wouldn't be fascinated? Who wouldn't be surprised?
Who wouldn't want to store this treasure in their home?
“Step right up every body” said a sales man in a suit and slacks
“Get your own underwater tree, beautiful rare and black.
No no just you wait, they come in many colors and shapes”
And he showed a few to a fascinated group, which OOO-ed and AAAH-ed
and threw their money into the air with joy.
The underwater trees which always bloomed in tribes grew fewer
As people continued to take and never give back in return;
They killed the fish who tended to the trees' fields
and spread their filth into the seas, until the plants fell sick and scarce.
If you wonder how this could be and how so many can
kill so freely, and not respect this wonderful tree, on whose branches froth a world of life,
if you cannot understand, I do not blame you, as no one can
morally say such an act is within our human right.
Nowadays the trees still stand, grouped together on sandy ground
whether in deep or shallow seas, trying to live out their tree-lives
haunted by unrest and danger, a chemical foe disguised as a friend
a culprit for bringing an entire universe to a universal end.
2011 Moira G. Gallaga©