My Forest Tears

Ethnomusicology about forest in Indonesia; See more on www.gekkovoices.com

The poem is
Here at one time
orangutans played joyfully
eating fruits and leaves of the trees
swinging between the branches
generation upon generation for thousands of years

Here at one time
the Meranti, Ulin, and Kamper trees
stood sacredly in great forests
wild orchids bloomed and faded
in-synch with the rhythms of the universe

Here at one time
the Dayak with their blowpipes
hunted deer for their dinner
oo… the plentiful fruit and fish
abundant healing leaves

Here at one time
the sun shone brightly
pouring its light on the dense rain forest
chlorophyll turned CO2 to O2
creating fresh, clean air

Nowadays
no rain forest remain
gone are the Dayak and their culture
gone are the orangutans, only a sad story
with its historical garbage is left behind

Nowadays
millions of hectares of dry barren land
the dried roots of the trees remain
and huge holes of acid run-off water
left behind after the coal was sucked dry

Nowadays
the red sun shines
watching officials, businessmen,
and foreign investors greedily cut down the trees
planted and nurtured over thousands of years

Oh, my people … my people
nowadays …
angry Mother Earth sends floods
thousands of innocents lose belongings and lives
while the sinners play golf with their mistresses

Aach … my forest laments
its eyes are swollen
its mouth gasps for breath

Oh ….
you will see when the islands are drowning
the deserts expanding
disasters grow more violent … disasters grow more violent.