Devolution

     

In the days before Man
transformed stark hill and plain,
decapitated our forests,
and smog-filled the air;
In the days when buffalo
had only lion or cougar to fear,
Bears jammed honey-filled paws to mouth
and watched lonely miners work their trade.
An honest day's earning made
from back-breaking sweat,
not by playing wall street roulette,
or conning blue-haired ladies
out of tucked-away cash.
Foreign to us, those long-ago days,
when fresh was the air,
stars overpowering the skies,
and a handful of clear water
still could be scooped
from fastmoving streams.

Those days may be gone,
but not passed in vain
The memories still live on
in the whisper of summer winds,
the remembered twinkle of ancient stars,
the ruins of those hard-worked mines,
and in the tales passed down
from the remaining honey-stuffed bears
one to another to another.

Pris Campbell
Copyright 6/6/2001

Artwork: The Miner's Camp
Three panels of Ink and Paint
by Michael Rusch
(See his site for purchase information)
Artwork copyrighted with all rights retained by the artist

Music: One Man by Yanni

Return to Homepage
Return to Collaborations Listings