Lush, emerald grass forms a carpet
and creates a barrier from the moist, soft earth.
Green is everywhere.
Shades of olive, jade, lime, teal and chartreuse
cover the earth like a blanket.
Betwixt the green are splashes of
pink, purple, red, yellow, white and orange
from exotic flowers too numerous to count.
Some grow by themselves
while others grow in vines over other bushes and up trees.
Not only do they decorate the forest floor,
but they radiate their floral scents throughout this tropical place.
Enormous roots lead to
trees stories high that have witnessed many, many years of
the sounds and sights of nature.
Gigantic ferns point to a small, trickling brook.
It seems to disappear around the curve.
The musical resonance of the stream gives way
to the not too distant waterfall
from which it draws its strength.
The water plunges serenely down the cliff,
making a splash at the bottom
and forming a lake.
The water is clear.
In it, fish and other aquatic creatures flourish.
Along the water’s edge
are shrubs and trees baring fruits and spices
like pineapples, sugar, chocolate, and cinnamon.
Others hold medicine and cures in their
fruit, barks and leaves.
Dark clouds form and envelope the once deep blue sky.
A gentle rain falls from the heavens, filling
crevices and ponds over and over again.
Creatures great and small live here.
So many, in fact, that they have not all
been accounted for.
This living, thriving ecosystem needs
safeguarding to save the remaining six
percent that still swathes the earth.
Survival—our survival depends on it.
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