The intruder

Two lanes of speeding cars

Hurling, weaving, and passing

Hellbent to arrive somewhere

Perhaps with a pause for a drink and gassing

 

These ribbons of concrete and rivers of asphalt

They are cold, hard and unbending

Intruding snakes bisecting the natural

To wildlife they must seem unending

 

The roar of travel and blur of steel

Mesmerizing headlights hypnotic

In pulses and waves they come and they go

A rhythm to the chaotic

 

The same world lies on either side

Old and set in its’ ways

Patterns of life that have been followed for eons

Interrupted by an alien who indiscriminately slays

 

The life that lives will travel

Ancestral paths worn deep

Unseen dangers in traversing the Intruder

The Intruder who never sleeps

 

Patterns in nature take time to make and break

To the earth these monsters are new

What was once continuous

Is now broken and askew

Be it squirrels teeming with testosterone

A young turkey confused or rabbits dashing to dash

They eat, they drink, they mate, they play

They live in the moment, a flash

 

If we are kindred spirits respecting life in all

Finding joy in being alive

Let us pause our progress just to consider

Respectfully

Let us drive

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Steve Morgan
Steve Morgan

Steve Morgan is a retired landscape architect who spent most of his 35 year career in Arizona and New Mexico. His current career is giving Chautauquas or Living History performances, as Aldo Leopold. He happily calls Kingston, New Mexico his home now, nestled in the Black Range Mountains only 3 miles from the Aldo Leopold Wilderness. His writings are strongly shaped by Aldo Leopold’s love of the wild lands, with respect and compassion for the land – the soils, waters, plants and animals. Steve’s compassion for nature is evident by his strong, driving desire to open people’s eyes to the marvel and joy of experiencing the natural world.

Posts: 41

One comment

  1. Thanks for that, Mr. Morgan! As a past cyclist, I have stopped to remove turtles from the highways and even stopped to ‘clap’ rattlers off the road. Love wildlife, love all lifr.

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