based on "Silent Spring"
The smog hangs low on sulky skies or grey.
An oak branch withers in the choked air.
The redbirds visit feeders for no play,
but fight and bicker over crumbs on the stairs.
The birds no longer sing their joyful songs;
their throats vibrate no more with whistles and trills.
The fouled air closes their mouths like tongs.
The choked air no more with spring sounds thrills.
The culprit is a whining plane o'erhead
hired by a corporation drawn by greed
to spray and kill a bug the farmers dread
while sickly birds and trees will soon be dead.
A poison made to kill the worst of pests,
will kill the things in nature loved the best.

Lindsey Milton 1994

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