Nature went AWOL

The path is long, the walk tiring,

I’m panting and perspiring,

There’s nothing to distract the mind

From the tedium of this grind.

But I’d brought my Walkman along,

So I am soon lost in a song.

“Dull creature!” the Poet may cry,

“The well of your soul is dry!

Is not the birdsong sweet enough

To ease burdens, soften the tough?

Is not the rustle of the leaves

Balm to the heart that tires and grieves?

Blaring machines can ne’er replace

Nature’s mellifluous grace!”

Well, I was of the same opinion once

But I soon realized I was being a dunce.

I once thought I heard birds singing,

But it turned out to be a phone ringing,

Besides, no bird will knowingly bungle

Its life by living in this concrete jungle!

And how can leaves rustle in the breeze

When there are no shrubs or trees?

And so, to the petulant Poet, I say:

Dude, Nature ran away.