Cut And Sell Poem by Jibrael Jos

We buy or inherit
a piece of land
Do we build a house,
a shop, a school
Or do we build a fence
and wait for
property price to rise
Or do we leave it free
For cows to graze
and kids to play

Do we till the land
And labour for it
Do we sow
So that one day we can reap
Or do we reap
What we did not sow

Do we plant trees in this space
To save our world
Or simply to exploit
the land of the last drop of water
to cash the wood for white paper

Is this land ours
to cut and sell
To pollute the lakes
and trees to fell
We are here for a blink
But somehow we think
We are here to rule
this earth

Trees which stood
for a hundred years
Who bore sweet fruits,
Provided shade and shelter
For man and beast alike
Is chopped down in a jiffy
With a cold axe's clean strike

Lakes which served for a million years
to various fishes and flora
Adding to the villages
ambience and aura
Refuge for migratory birds
is flushed with waste and sewage
Leaving the lake
Seething with foam and rage

Is this land ours
To cut and sell
To pollute the lakes
And trees to fell
We are here for a blink
But somehow we think
We are here to rule
this earth