When I'm Gone

by Felicia Boñales 

From soil below, life took its start,  

Roots reached skyward, every part.  

Up to the clouds, in wild array,  

Where even the sky was just a way.  

Flowers bloomed and rivers ran,  

Creatures thrived in nature’s span.  

Then humans came with hungering view,  

And took from all that breathed and grew.  

We conquered land, we sailed the seas,  

Built our homes from fallen trees.  

We swelled in number, with no end in sight,  

Claimed this earth as our birthright.  

First we hunted just for need,  

Then for power, thrill, and greed.  

The balance broke, we strayed afar,  

From life’s own pulse, from nature’s heart.  

We rose with pride, took all we could,  

'Til the earth struck back, as nature would:  

Floods and storms, the quaking ground,  

A final cry, no life around.  

What once was filled with vibrant breath,  

Now lies still in shrouded death.  

Land and sea, and air turned gray,  

Every living thing decayed.