Paradise Lost

Stumps…..

That is all that is seen…

for miles….and miles…

They are seen in the great distance.

And even at night, you can see.

The trees are gone…

Our paradise..

Is gone.

None of us saw it coming. We all awoke to another beautiful rising sun. Most of us did…. The rooster crowed at a near by ranch and the horses had returned to graze. I’m just some little coyote but not just any coyote. I have a story to tell. I want you humans, you people, you monsters! To know what you did. To my home. To our home. Our lovely little paradise. Where the deer pranced, the birds sang, and the hawk flew in the bright blue skies. And under the stars at night, my pack hunted, the owls hooted and all the others of the night came alive. We ran around, we played, we yipped and searched for food. Sure, maybe the hogs are a real pain, but besides that! It was beautiful! And now! Look at this! It is gone! My family locked in cages of silver! Gun shots rang like bells!

PANG! 

PANG! 

PANG!

Silence

PANG!

PANG!

PANG!

The cries of injured creatures! Both big! Both small! Not even the insects were spared! Not the fish in the pond! Not even the birds that fly! And the turtles that hide in their shells! Everyone was gone! I ran as fast as I could, but one by one…my pack was gone.

PANG!

I’d hear their awful cries..

PANG!

MORE AWFUL CRIES!

I cannot….I just cannot get it out of my head. How terrified I was. How awful the sounds! And when we were all gone. YOU, took your machines out and demolished the trees.

YOU!

Tore apart our land. Not even the beautiful flowers were spared. My heart ached. There were huge machines of black and yellow like the bees, but they too, didn’t spare them either. No, they just tore down the hives, and KILLED, the bees. Not even the larvae were spared. Even the badger’s home was destroyed. Our lands have been devastated. Devoured by your machinery. Our lives gone as we know it. Our wild ways dead.

Just as all those who were not spared are. Both big.

Both small.

The short..

And the tall.

All gone, all gone.

And all this destruction for what? Just to build yourselves, more buildings! Don’t you have enough? You inhabit half of this entire planet, don’t you? But no! You just need more! And more! ISN’T IT ENOUGH? WAS IT WORTH MY FAMILY’S LIVES? WAS IT WORTH THE LIVES OF THE BEES?

THE TURTLES?

THE DEER?

AND THE HERON THAT WAS SHOT OFF HER NEST?

Her children cried…and cried. They too were taken away. I’m unsure as to where, or as to why. But they are gone. Everyone! And I. No….

WE.

Are just animals? Aren’t we?

WE, don’t know what emotion is.

WE , are unintelligent.

WE, are just there.

Like objects you toss us around. But NO! We are alive just like you! We have lives, families, loves! Just. Like. YOU. You who destroyed it all. Let it be known! It shall be known! And here I am. Staring at you. Through this…this…invisible object. I walk back and forth. For I have no where to go. No where to be. But here. The rest of us, wear silly collars and costumes and are forced to do tricks FOR YOU! They beat us with whips, tasers and bats! Just so that we may dance! Just to see you all giggle and laugh! HOW DARE YOU?! You take us from our home! Which YOU, have destroyed! And expect us to do these things willingly. How dare you? You point and say. “How beautiful! How magnificent!” You filthy liar. If you cared and admired us so much, you would have let us all alone to live in our paradise. Each and every one. But no. For you killed the wild turkeys and ants, you killed the butterflies and the moths. Even the crows weren’t spared. Even before you came and demolished our home. You shot the bears for their fur and the cougars for the same. You shot the blue jay for her feathers, and you left her children to starve. They cried til their last breaths. Before you destroyed our home. You killed off all the wolves, because you were afraid. Do you know how the wolves, felt though? I was always told by oldest birds in the forests that the wolves feared man more than man feared them. Each time they heard the dogs bark they knew an army of death was to follow. But alas, not all humans are terrible. They were the ones who rescued me….and my little brother. So, you wish to be told the tale, you say? And you are very sure, are you?

You may….

or may not…regret asking. Well on with it I suppose. You see while the rest of my family was being captured, it was up to me….to keep my little brother from such dangers, I ran as fast as the lighting that bolts across the skies, the wind that blows down trees, and the creek that stops for no one! I jumped over logs! Stones! Trees that were falling before my very eyes! But alas, but alas…….

I tripped….

I tripped…, but I am grateful, I tripped off that ledge. I injured my left leg during the fall but never let go of my brother. He was uninjured, but we still needed help. That’s when I saw lights. They looked as if they were searching for something. It was people….it was you…..you picked me up, me and my brother. You laid us down in comfortable silver boxes, and took us to a safe place. You helped me get back on my feet. You helped my brother grow. But alas, but alas, you still betrayed us. You sent us away to a horrid place. But perhaps, maybe you didn’t betray us? Perhaps…you didn’t know? You didn’t know,…that they’d do those things to us? Well, if so, it still happened. It still happens…it’s perfectly fine I guess. As long as it isn’t my brother, as long as it isn’t me. But I feel bad for the cougar. He is still always. Never blinks, never eats and never sneaks. Just there, in an aggressive position. People stroke him, even when told not, and he fine with it. His eyes look odd, fake, along with other features. I don’t know what’s wrong. I……I don’t want to know….what’s wrong..even when my brother asks. “I don’t know…I’m sure we don’t want to know, brother…” I tell him each time as he replies with “You are right sister…I don’t wish to know either, but a part of me does.”. It is quite odd. Oh, and the owl. The precious owl. Her face looks like a heart made of clouds, and her feathers match the plains grass. How I miss it. I’ll talk to her whenever I can. It is hard to communicate with others through these invisible barriers. Strange….she will often say to me when I am curious as to how she tolerates this “I would like to set an example, for all owls. What I’ve learned in my time here, that people fear owls. I want to show them we aren’t so bad. I wish to show them, that we are magnificent beings of the prairies. That we would like to help.” She was not wrong, not wrong at all….“You are very brave.” I would tell her she would shake her head. “I am not brave. I am determined. I just want to show people we aren’t as bad as they think.” She’s just in front of me. See?

Turn around.

Do you see her now?

Yes, I guess that’s what she’s called….

A Barn Owl? Interesting…….. And so, that is my story. THE story of how paradise, was lost…and in the reality of it all, the true reality, of things. Is that we are all captives.

Aren’t we?