It Was Their World, Too
“Snakes are the top predators in their ecosystem.
They are the regulators of rodents. If we remove this regulator,
We can expect an increase in the number of disease carrying animals.”
Jason Head,
Biologist, University of Toronto
Music: Nature’s Lament
I searched for snakes along the shore
I didn’t find any, or any snake dens
A new study says they are vanishing
Snakes, too, may be nearing their end
First, we sadly learned of the vanishing bees
Then, about all of the bats, which are perishing
Numerous songbirds, are also now disappearing
And today, death to the world’s snakes, we bring
In the last two centuries, we’ve decimated their habitats
So many forests, and wetlands, and ponds, already gone
When I was a child, I remember seeing snakes, everywhere
I found my first pet snake, Tiny, right on my own front lawn
And when I would go hiking, camping, or fishing on these lakes
I would always encounter all sorts of snakes, sunning or hunting
I started carrying a Snake Identification Booklet wherever I went
I was fascinated by snakes, and enjoyed watching them swimming
Tiny was a Common Garter Snake, and once they lived all around us
But today, I never encounter Garter Snakes on my many walk-abouts
In fact, I now rarely see any types of snakes at all, these very sad days
Many don’t believe we are killing our planet - but now, I have no doubt
I searched for snakes along the shore,
I didn’t find any, or any snake dens;
A new study says they are vanishing,
Snakes, too, may be nearing their end.
Dying Bees, and Bats, and Song Birds,
And Frogs, and Butterflies, and Snakes;
So much of Creation, Is Now Vanishing,
In All Of The Devastation, Which We Make.
The Bees Diligently Pollinated Our Food Crops,
The Bats Aggressively Consumed The Mosquitoes,
The Snakes Always Kept The Rodents Under Control,
One Day Very Soon, Their Great Value, Will Be Known.
©Lake Wandering 2011, Mr. Ed
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Anna
The last snake I remember seeing was when we lived out in Carroll County, Westminster, Md. in 1984 or so. My wife was weeding in the front of our house and screamed - but by the time I got there, she had chopped its head off with a shovel!
Poor thing was just a large garter snake, basking in the sun - women n' snakes just don't mix! Only saw one barn rat in the 5 years we were out there in the 'Boonies.'
I'm sorry to say that, by the time you n' I reach 'The Happy Hunting Grounds' there won't be much of any species for the following generations to enjoy.
Probably just more n' more RATS infecting our cities. Perhaps history will repeat itself, and the 'Black Plague' will take care of the Over-Population 'problem'?
Peace ... Tom.
Joy L. Hale
Newfie Hugs, Rose
especially the boys chasing us girls with
grass or chicken snakes...and another time
when a Blue Racer went after us...never
ran so fast....
~Mr Ed~
I so appreciate your poems with all the wonderment
of Mother Nature's critters...that we will surely
miss when they are gone
Lady Vivian
Cheers,
Dan
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Texas, Karen Lynn. :(