Hush

The sun dappled

The view we saw

Of a land that once

Wasn’t our land-

We envisioned

Ourselves in older attire,

Voices thick with accent

A focus on human-

Not surrounding.

The trees knew

Spoke the words

Of the past,

History absorbed

Into bark as soft

As baby blanket-

Young in grand scheme,

Ancient to human mind

Unable to fathom

What stood before,

When giant was tiny

A sapling,

A seedling waiting

To break through-

Eager to view

A world we’ll never-

Human eye incapable of imaging

A world free of pollution

Waste distorted as growth-

Homesick for arms

That we will never know

A heart that yearns

For something more-

A balance set off

Long before our eyes

Opened to the surrounding-

Concrete and brick

Standing arrogant

Where once trees stood

Giving all

For the breath you breathe.

And when the clocks hush

And we find ourselves stagnant

Sitting among dust and clutter

Staring out windows

Thick with grime of glutton

We will see the nature

Meant to embrace humans-

The smog lifted

Over cultural center-

Where we learn the truth

In the leaves and sunshine.