Perak?

WHY?

 

They are heedless

Those who walk on city pavements.

Heedless of killing and injuring

Small creatures moving or not...

Ah! How heedful I am at each step

Heedful of crushing, of smashing

Along the path or through the field

Tiny humble creatures beneath my foot:

The green beetle crouched in the moss,

The minute ant carrying

With great effort and ingenuity

The short-straw to her anthill.

Pretty little flowers half-hidden in the grass,

Trying to open their heart to the Sun.

It seems to me that I hear their lament:

---Why then, Lord, did you not give

Wings to Man?

Ah! How heavy is the weight of his foot on us!

 

June 1972.