MENU CHANGE
Sunday Dec. 1, 2013
Animals didn’t debate.
Plants didn’t legislate.
Earth’s inhabitants survived, thrived.
Life flourishes, still.
Earth was lush.
Ice ages came, went, as did hurricanes.
Monsoons. Floods. Tsunamis. Asteroid collisions.
Diseases, mutations, adaptations.
No weapons, no wars.
No cars, no computers.
No animal was homeless.
Along came big brain man needing so many non-essentials.
Man hawks wares, like carnival barkers.
Craves things nobody needs.
Ignores necessities of others.
Fittest survive best.
Welcome to earth, have a nice day.
Before birds migrated, they stayed home.
Why not move some endangered polar bears to Antarctica?
Test their appetite for penguins, or order in a load. If we weren’t here, would polar bears die, thrive, or migrate south without impediment in search of stable ice and tasty birds?
Morning paper stories – spies, marketing, sport, politics, activism and insurrection.
Why?
In every need or conflict there are good reasons.
I get that, but I would like earth to turn easier, for people to be a little gentler . . .
Our issues du jour like earth’s plates grinding upon each other – subtle friction, wearing down neighbour bit by little bit.
Or are we the oyster, dealing with sand grains, coating future pearls, every day, until they don’t irritate.
People.
Like that.
Coat them with kindness daily.
Reduce irritation.
Nature doesn’t need watch or calendar to tell day from night or mark seasons.
Animals don’t take days off.
Migratory birds, like us, have to work really hard to get away . . .
We’ve tinkered with earth so much.
Never, will it be as it was.
Nor will we.
Change, not inevitable.
It’s constant.
Can we make it better?
Mark Kolke
200,860
column written/ published from Calgary
morning walk: -1C / 30F, sun peeking through (storm coming!), streets empty except for a dog walker who things by-laws about leashing dogs is for other people caused me come (expletive-deleted) consternation, while Gusta enjoyed the tangle-tuggle with two collies
Comments Received:
Does the Chicken Ranch have an all inclusive?, anon
Your short musings are nice. I also like your long musings. More time to meander through your thoughts – see the interesting turns, tangents and twits. What is important is what feels right – sometimes that is structure, sometimes it is not, RT, Devon, AB
