Habitat Fragmentation Poem by Sheena Blackhall

First the diggers came, and the chainsaws
We hid in our homes, bewildered
Not knowing this could spell the end of our world

Many of us perished on roads, trying to access food,
Or died going in search of a mate

Now we are marooned on a shrinking island
We've become in-breds, the dying dregs of our kinds

The birds bring news that we are not alone,
In countries far away from our small island
Forests and animals die fasttogether
The climate turns on man and bites him back

Clever man, who reads, invents and plans
Harvests fossil fuels, fells forests, dredges rivers

Urbanization fills in wetlands, mows our meadows down
Habitats ripped apart making room for factories,
Soil is eroded… causing flooding, drought

In Thailand Buddhists ordain trees as monks
For doing this, some pay a heavy price

Forests give man oxygen, water, food,
Clever, clever man, he know that jungles give him
Medicine, and clothes, they give him breath
Why would man kill them, and the creatures there?