Jan/Feb 2023  •   Poetry  •   Special Feature

Easy

by Joyce Brinkman

Photo courtesy of NASA's image library

Photo courtesy of NASA's image library


Easy

It isn't easy to save a sea,
much less an ocean.

It isn't easy to protect a prairie.
Buffalo will help.

It isn't easy to defend a dune
from biting, wind erosion.

It isn't easy to watch over a wetland
that someone wants to drain.

It isn't easy to foster a forest
when a country want to grow.

It isn't easy to widen the world for wildlife
where poachers win large rewards.

It isn't easy to enhance an ecosystem
that stands in the way of "progress."

Nothing we do is easy. After we fail,
it won't be easy for us to survive.