Requiem for the Tulip

The greedy birds of Wall Street build their nests
in lofty skyscrapers with stone facades
and hang artistic renderings of tulips
by Georgia O'Keefe on their walls
to maintain the pretense
of contact with nature.

The old oak tree drones a haunting requiem.

Their Caterpillars rape our land,
stripping vibrant flowers from the earth,
so concrete slabs and asphalt strips
can displace the green, green grass of home,
while factories spit poisonous phlegm
into our rivers and plastic waste
suffocates our whales.
Ka-ching! The music of cash flow blinds their soul.

The old oak tree drones a haunting requiem.

Tree huggers would have us plant wind turbine orchards
to feed voracious hunger for the energy
which lights our castles and fuels our gizmos.
Political rain muddies the stream of reason.
Will tulips grow in a solar panel garden?
I think not. We must broaden scope to preserve green space.

The old oak tree drones a haunting requiem.

         

Author's notes:

1. 23 lines of Bop poetry.

2. The Bop is a recent innovation conceived by African American poet Afaa Michael Weaver. It consists of three stanzas with a repeated line, or refrain, following each stanza, as described and demonstrated in the following link: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/personal-updates/poetic-... .

3. Georgia O'Keefe's painting Pink Tulip: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/58969076346080363/ .

4. Caterpillars: http://www.cat.com/en_US/products/new/equipment.html