Earth First & Last
Like children
in summertime,
our planet
thrives on
vivid evidence
that there
is always
something to be.
Unlike fools
who amass
acres by way
of massacres,
nature plants
herself in one
area and creates
worlds around her.
Earth itself
(like birds
and wisdom)
feeds on
uncertainty
and sees death
for what it is: the
freedom to erode.
— Connolly Ryan
Connolly Ryan is a poet and senior lecturer at UMass Amherst Honors College. You can contact him at connollyryanpi@hotmail.com.