The Animals
© 1989 by Jim Andris
I.
Each morning as I rise I hear the singing of the birds.
I smell the scented pines, and search my heart for thankful words.
Yet every day still other forms of life become extinct.
We must be mindful of of the ways in which we all are linked.
Oh, the animals, the animals and we.
We share a blue-green planet that is beautiful to see,
And we're connected in a great web of ecology,
And what becomes of each of us affects the unity.
II.
My heart is with the eagle as he soars below the blue.
His mighty wings are gliding him on currents ever new.
And, breathless, I behold, amazed, the dolphin's graceful arc.
So lovely, it's a shame to keep her locked up in a park.
Oh, the animals, the animals we love.
They're swimming deep below us, and they're soaring up above.
We're linked in many special ways within this biosphere.
And through these links the far away can change the now and here.
III.
And I will miss the elephant, intelligent and bold.
For ivory this creature's to extinction being sold.
I fear I must admit it, thogh it isn't in God's plan.
There isn't any creature quite as heartless as a man.
Oh, the animals, the wild ones and the pets.
We're thankful for their caretakers, the farmers and the vets.
We're caught up in the crisscrosses of Earth's great econets.
And though we're all endangered, we can save each other yet.
IV.
So let me ask you just to open up your eyes and hearts.
And look into the forces that are tearing us apart.
The animals have given us the things we've needed most.
So why can't we be treating them as if they're
gracious hosts.
Oh, the animals, the animals and us.
They say God gave dominion over them, so what's the fuss.
The fuss is that it looks as though we have betrayed our trust.
But it's still not too late to turn a minus to a plus.
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