what's in our eye now?

 

the price of our decisions

should we sod the yard at the cabin?

durable grass that can take and thrive under heavy use?

the poor soil now mostly supports moss,

an attractive green that easily slips away

with the slightest use of kids playing,

some recommend no grass for fear of its environmental impact:

the fertilizer or water or herbicides,

and that caution has its truth,

yet how to weigh what we want to do

versus our effects upon an increasingly fragile Earth?

if I were to prioritize,

I would first protect us from population explosion,

each new person forces the Earth to pay a heavy price,

I would reduce the size and poundage 

of our cars and personal trucks:

the ego gain of being bigger than the Joneses

is not worth the heavy price of environmental impact,

yet again, I still like to fly, to enjoy meat,

to enjoy shipped-in strawberries and other fruit year-round,

we didn’t stop with one child,

in fact, my wife and I are third children,

we do what we can,

and we know that what we “can” 

is often what we will,

it is easy to pass judgement on those in the past,

and what we feel “now” were their mistakes “then”

what is in our own eye now

that keeps us from seeing true?

by Henry H. Walker

December 22, ‘22