Deep within the forest green
There lives a race unheard unseen
They live their lives among the trees
Because without them they would cease
Their bodies have a faulty gene
I came upon this race so rare
When we came upon their lair
The company was cutting trees
When I heard an eerie wheeze
Floating in the sawdust air
I had the men shut down the saws
And left them in the charge of Dawes
There was something in the forest
Chanting in a choking chorus
Quite noticable in our pause
I held up my hand to tell then men
To not do anything and then
I stepped into the forest deep
As quietly as I could creep
And heard the sounds again
As I walked I heard a sigh
"Do not continue for we shall die."
I looked around in frantic awe
And from the treetops then I saw
A small dark man swing down from high
"Who are you?" I bluntly asked
"And why do you resent our task?"
"My People must live among the trees
The way the fishes need the seas
We are a strange but simple race
But now a problem we do face
Each tree cut down means our death
Fro from each tree we get our breath
We've lived among the trees for years
Have lived our lives with joy and tears
Our lungs grew used to so much purity
It seemed we would endure with surity
And then you came with your machines
With them you shattered hopes and dreams
For first the old ones passed away
And then the weak ones fell each day
And now the young are dying too
They cannot breathe you see and you,
Go right on chopping down the trees..."
With that he fell upon his knees
He gasped for air and clutched my shirt
Within his eyes I saw the hurt
He'd lost so many and I knew
Many more would die soon too
For I knew this forest was almost gone
We hauled out lumber by the ton
The company owner was a heartless man
The head of a million dollar clan
Who cared for nature only when
It made him money and paid his men
Though I felt the deed was done
I had to try to save these ones
I called the master then and there
But he said he didn't care
To get those people off his land
And get the saws on and manned
I helped the native to his feet
For I had yet to be beat
I told the men to start their work
Inside I felt like such a jerk
Into the forest we then fled
I followed the native as he led
The way deep into the trees
Natives surrounded me like bees
"I'll try again" I fairly wept
Off to the side with my cell I crept
And phoned my friend Suzanne LaRue
Who surely would know what to do
She pulled some strings and wouldn't you know
She worked a miracle and so
To this day in a strange land
Cutting trees is strictly banned
For there in a teeny tiny forest
Singing and enchanting chorus
The Treebreathers live in peace
Their whole lives among the trees
(Finished 6/21/2010) All rights Abigail R. LoCascio
https://www.blurb.com/b/7372651-the-treebreathers
