January 6, 2007
Sweet Corvallis, view the mirror
What do you see?
What happens around you
When you turn that key?
Do you speed down the streets while ignoring the signs
As pedestrians scatter like leaves in exhaust?
Do they cower at margins or simply stay home?
Does that mirror show one who considers the cost?
In a landscape designed more for motors than people
It is sidewalks and bike lanes that invite so much dumping
For the worship of speed is the new paradigm
As investors seek ways to increase all the shopping
When "community" is a collection of things
The consumer is king and the neighborhood withers
We get leaders who honor the engine of "progress"
And the hospitals profit as carnage continues
As the asphalt expands do you think about limits?
Does a world without ice caps not give you some pause?
Does denial release you from growing up wise?
Is the killing on battlefields done for your cause?
As the wild becomes trampled by personal buses
So much is lost that cannot be measured
In the roar of the traffic, the spills and the fumes
Disconnection increases from nature's dear treasure
Do you demand a place to park
Where once was the nest of a meadowlark?
Sweet Corvallis, view the mirror
What do you see?
Is that the face of tyranny?
written by Mark Knapp
© 2007