Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the Earth without making it unfit for all life?”– Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962
Mapmakers get ready. Gulf of Greed.
Ocean of Oil. Country of Clearcuts.
State of Smokestacks. Region of Rapaciousness.
Map “Maximize timber production on public lands”
as the last Spotted Owl lies crushed under the last
great tree of a denuded ancient forest.
As oil companies cheer chucking the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act of 1918. Map “Drill Baby Drill” as the final
Trumpeter Swan glides into a toxic pit of chemicals.
Map Parks Paved Over. Turn National Parks
from Yellowstone to Yosemite to the Great Smoky
Mountains over to real estate tycoons. Map Public Lands Sold.
Tear up the Clean Water Air Act. Chant “Spill Baby Spill.”
Map Rivers on Fire. Back to the good old days.
Cuyahoga River oil slicks flaming out of control.
Let the poor, the brown, and the undocumented
choke on sulphur and mercury. Clean Air Act
eviscerated. Map Billionaires Always Live Upwind.
Who listens to annoying birds in a dawn chorus?
Bring back DDT. Spray mosquitos and children again.
Map Silent Spring. Ban Rachel Carson’s book.
Will we stand by steamrolled, bulldozed,
and bludgeoned by the onslaught?
Draw Our Maps. Take Back Nature.
I want America the Beautiful
from Sea to Shining Sea.
I want to be as brave as Rachel Carson.
– Marina Richie
