The Faithful Stream

I remember
When the stream ran clear and bright
When none save doe and deer were there
To steal from it at night

When the forest grew green and tall and strong
And nature thrived there all day long
When none were there to cut or hew
And stream ran fast and clear and blue

Before the cars and motor ways
Mice and deer spent all their days
Living happy and content
From sweet water that stream lent

The trees grew tall and strong and proud
And flowers grew up from the ground
The animals, where we now stand
Drank long and deep in the lush land

Yet look around and what can you see?
I see no leaf nor doe nor tree
I see only dust and grime and gore
The stream a dump any would abhor

You see we came with plows and axe
Cutting, hacking, to our max
And so the deer all fled away
So this stream lies to this day

A house stand there, where a tree once stood
A small reminder of the wood
And still the stream drifts wearily along
Clogged with dirt, it's lost its song.

Years ago we left the place
Dry and bare, a sad disgrace
And now it stands still bare, still dry
And not a soul to hear its cry

The earth is cracked, a barren waste
We cut it down in our haste
And left it there to dry and rot
Up and gone without a thought

The trees are gone, the flowers dead
The animals had gone and fled
All that remains of that wood
Is the little stream where trees once stood

The only thing this little stream
Who once gave life but now is lean
But look here, I say, I have here a key
In nothing but a little seed

But this seed, you see, will grow once more
And it has magic things in store
For give it time and give it space
You'll see a tree take up its place

And this tree fed by faithful stream
Can now grow on with a gleam
And I place it in the dirt
Trying to undo all the hurt

For I remember
When the stream ran clear and bright
When none save doe and deer were there
To steal from it at night