Robert T. Nanninga
Coast News
February 11, 2009
It would seem I needed some critical me time after the 2008 Encinitas Council Race.Run down and profoundly disappointed I didn't see the pneumonia coming until I was panting like a dog struggling to breathe on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
Pneumonia is as gnarly as it gets. Everything works but the lungs. Lungs give breath. To breathe is to live. My mind is as active as ever, I want this to be done.
There is Earth Day to plan for, Encinitas Environment Day to organize. Poetry to publish and a novel to be finished. And I still have yet to see Prairie Dogs in the wild.
Laying in bed news filters back about life and community in Encinitas. It is nice to know the tree people are getting creative. Thank you Andrew and all who gave him support during his week at the Orpheus front line.
Trees are the lungs of the planet. Without trees, lots of trees, soon everyone and everything will be gasping for air, victims of planetary pneumonia, so not good.
With that observation, allow me to self indulge with a poem written in honor of those who fight and plant trees.
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Who are the people who speak for the trees Giving them voice from root tip to leaves I know they are out there I've heard the tales Of proud David Chain and Julia Butterfly Hill A redwood named Luna Watched her friends fall Victims of the greed Now killing us all Victims of indifference Trees continue to fall As the climate changes And biodiversity fades Planet is diminished As the trees fall away Where are the warriors Who will fight for the trees Knowing full well without trees we're not free Humans are primates We came from the trees Before braving the grassland And our now history Thugish and brutish Forests were cleared To make room for the primates Who hold nothing dear Happy to cut down Trees, as long as they're there Well I'll speak for the tree people And count them as friends This warrior undaunted a message will send In the green revolution Allies stand tall and take to the trees Spreading the call Trees are our future Trees built our past Trees must become sacred If mankind is to last So all hail the tree poeple Those that fight for the trees Those that understand ethics Beyond avarice and greed A battle is coming Pitting man against man Man against nature So do as you can It's time to take sides Not just to do as you please Make no mistake I stand with the trees. |
Plant an oak, save the world.