Seasons of Life and Death

By John Cannon

Throughout the woodland floor the trillium lie,
Like snow drops fallen from the April sky;

The whites and shades of pink draw every eye,
In a carpet green from stalks and leaves so high;

Chickweed, violets and wild geranium cavort,
Along with large-flowered trillium, the queen at court.

In fall these forest grounds are used for sport,
The rifle sending out its loud report

Destroys the peaceful ambience of spring,
Brings death to woods where later birds will sing,

When warmth returns to cut the winter’s cold,
And Flowers once again start to unfold.

The gentle flowers bring the breath of life,
And mark the end of inter-species strife;

The one-way bloody battlefield is gone,
And soon the doe will have a newborn fawn.

I wish that here the spring would long prevail,
And free each living thing from all travail;

We need more places where all creatures can
Escape the constant threats from selfish man.

Written in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia