Listen to Their Hope

Listen to the last of the whales

And they will sing

 Of their long, large lives, hear their song

  Of their beautiful abyss,

 And their grief

  And hope for their young.

Generations of song and majesty and deep-water dances.

Lend an ear to the elephant, tamarin, rhino—

 The salamander, the coral, the cricket, the bee.

They live

 As they’ve always lived, on our shared Earth.

They sing

 Of a time before humankind had come around,

Listen to the songs

 Of ages,

And they will sing of surviving,

 Holding on

  For the hope

   Of their species.

Lend an ear, Listen to their last call,

 The soulful endeavor

  Their rapidly vanishing songs

They sing

 Of a time before humankind had come around,

  Hoping their song will be heard.