POETRY

98.7% DNA with Bonobos

machetes to the cul-de-sac just hack the HOA* hoarders of the fuel we need to send the kids to play

every landscaped yellow rose plucked by stem and thorn not given to our newest lover nor widows of the mourn

deforestation of the trails get in our morning run before the poachers settle on which target first to stun

up from the cracks spring grass and sprouts of new mahogany velvet tamarind, sisal, palm and specimens of botany

before too long the canopy clouds out what humans tried to capture and cage to justify but destruction is denied

for when greed destroys all earth the human ecosystem wanes but nature will take us over we’ll scrap together what remains

if only we could learn our lesson and look deep inside the Congo and understand we share 98.7% DNA with bonobos

Samantha Lazar 2021

To learn more about what you can do to help preserve the Congo rainforests and the bonobo, please visit the World Wildlife Fund.

Tagging some other environmental and nature writers: Christina M. Ward Jenny Justice Erika Burkhalter

*HOA stands for Home Owners Association, if you are unfamiliar.