THE CROSSROAD

I once stood
At the edge of a dirt crossroad
Beneath a warm, ruby Hawaiian sunset.
And I heard
The Coquis
Singing their routine crepuscular songs.
They were songs
that came from the heart.
I saw a great machine
Spraying large amounts of a certain substance
Upon the leaves from which the sound emanated.
I saw a man
Dressed in work clothes
Headed down the crossroad.
And I asked him
"What is that substance?"
And he replied
"It is caffeine."
And I asked him
"Why do you spray it on the home of the frogs?"
And he responded
"They are too loud."
"They are a threat to our native species."
"We need to eradicate them."
And this made me puzzled.
For I looked to the crossroad
And nearby I saw
Some men with jackhammers and construction equipment.
The construction equipment
was very noisy.
It bothered me.
It made me mad.
I saw
A small patch of rainforest
Cut down within a matter of seconds
By the large
Noisy
Destructive machinery.
A threat to our native species,
I thought.
And I once again paused to listen to the natural chorus
Of the little Coquis.
And I looked back at the construction equipment.
Noisy.
Destructive.
A threat to our native species, and our environment.
And I looked back at the man-
The man surveying the whole scene as I was.
And the man expressed no emotion or concern.
And I thought about that man for a long time.
He was a threat to our native species.
And I
Hated him.
-----
DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
0.0.1 Eastern ribbon snake
1.1 red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
0.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
1.2 fire salamanders
1.1 scarlet kingsnakes
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog
1.1 Southern ringneck snakes
0.0.2 Western hooknose snakes
0.0.1 Florida brown snake
0.1.1 Northern brown snakes
0.0.2 Western/ Midwestern worm snake intergrades