Leave It Better

Let our children inherit forests,
not tales of where they stood.

Let them wake to birds in song,
and hear the wild world sing along.

Let them return with grass-stained knees,
not know green through glowing screens.

Let them taste what living soil can yield,
and feast on food grown fresh from field.

Let them see creatures living free,
not queue for glimpses of what used to be.

And when, at last, we take our leave,
may they inherit, not merely grieve,
a world where forest, field, and sea
remain as wild as they should be.

~anonymous