The Ballad of Tall Man

Tall Man

Sorry you had to go

Gone too soon or just in time

Strong arms

Felled by the butcher’s axe

Chain saws and oblivion

Oil slick

Oil is a sick stain on the innocent

Your dying breath could be heard on the wind

Strong arms no longer sway

Travel back to what you’ve seen

Tall man

Remembers no houses

Open fields as far as the eye could see

Where deer roamed free

Then came the villagers

But you lived in harmony

But then came the engines

Smoke

War

Ha and “democracy”

A house built on your very feet

Land taken without permission

Land taken without permission

Lives shattered without permission

Take

Take

Take

Tall man

Full of knowledge and wisdom

Wiser than the wanton destruction that passes for man

Wish you could tell some more stories before you go

Remember when trees were sacred?

Remember that all this was once beautiful wild

and will be again, long after we are gone

Rest old man

Rest tall man

Dream now forever of the land of your fathers

Peace old man

Peace wise and sacred

Tall man

Strong arms, no longer can I see

©John de Gruyther 2014