TAKEN IN BY THE NATURAL WORLD
Since taking up residence
On the concrete
I'm prone
To take leave of my senses.
Often it is essential
To take off,
Take a trip,
Take refuge -
In the natural world,
In the forests, the river valleys and estuaries,
To take in the sites,
To take in the fragrance of the seashore.
I've taken rest in the tranquility
I've been taking my comfort
Taking in the beauty
I've been taking pictures -
But the wild places
Are being bulldozed, drilled and dredged
Dammed up, paved over and clear cut.
For many years all I could do
Was take out my check book
Here, oh dedicated and hardworking faceless ones,
Take my money and now protect
What I love so dearly.
Take over my responsibility
To GIVE
My time, my energy, my inner resources
I've been taking in the blessings of the natural world
For so long
I've been taken in BY the natural world
Recruited, it seems
By the faceless to join the faceless
My life force
Now both calling AND called -
To protect and preserve
What is left!
- Steven Robert McCord