The Forest

I have endured beyond the memory of your ancestors Before your banners touched the horizon Before your kingdoms rose from the soil Before your hands carved dominion into the bones of the earth I was here I watched the fox beneath the silver veil of night I watched the bear beneath the ancient trees I watched the birds surrender themselves to the current of the sky I watched the deer flee from shadows it could never escape I have witnessed their existence The fox deceived because survival demanded cunning The bear shattered the hive because hunger demanded sweetness The birds followed because uncertainty was heavier than obedience The deer ran because fear had become its inheritance And still... I never named them monsters I watched the wolf beneath the pale heavens Its howl not a declaration of violence But a lamentation for those it guarded A song carrying the names of its kin into the endless dark And still... I never named it cruel But then came man You arrived carrying fire in your hands And certainty within your voice You spoke of order Of morality Of superiority You claimed you were not bound by instinct You claimed you had transcended the wilderness Oh hunter I have heard the language of kings before I have heard tyrants call conquest necessity I have heard destruction disguised as salvation You do not escape nature by naming yourself above it You merely teach your instincts to speak elegantly You call the wound a sacrifice You call the forest a resource You call the absence of life a symbol of progress You create beautiful words To conceal ugly truths The wolf does not justify its hunger The bear does not write philosophy for its desire The fox does not construct a kingdom to excuse its deception Yet you do You place a crown upon your intention And call yourself righteous Oh hunter You asked me what separates you from the creatures beneath my branches You asked why they remain beasts While you remain man And I have watched I have watched the wolf surrender its life for another I have watched the deer tremble yet continue forward I have watched the birds seek belonging among countless wings I have watched the bear take only what the winter required But I have watched you take what was never needed So listen carefully The wilderness was never the absence of civilisation The wilderness was the absence of lies And when you ask me "Which creature was truly wild?" I will not answer with the claws of the wolf Nor the hunger of the bear Nor the cunning of the fox For they followed the laws written into their existence But you were given choice You were given reflection You were given mercy You were given the ability to understand suffering And still you chose Oh hunter Do not ask why the animals resemble you Ask why you were the only creature desperate to prove you were different And the forest became silent Not because it lacked an answer But because the answer had been standing before you Since the first tree fell.