Shameless

Oh ferocious king of the jungle, man has robbed you of your crown.
Once you roamed unrestrained, now you're stalked and hunted down.
For nothing more than man's cruel greed; to some it's just a game.
Another trophy stuffed and mounted; have these men no shame?
And the mighty elephant giant, so gentle yet so robust.
You have no natural enemies, except the men who murder for your  tusks.
Snares and traps and shotgun blasts; such horrors have your children seen.
Never was the way of the jungle so perverse or this obscene.
Tortured, maimed and slaughtered; orphaned are your young,
by poachers cruel and heartless, whom for these crimes should be hung.
A gorilla's hand as a souvenir? A rhino's horn for rumored pleasure?
A leopard's coat, a rabbit's foot - who said these things were treasures?!
Who are we, the human race, to play God in such a way?
Wiping out entire species, one by one, day by day.
Will man mourn the loss when we realize the great mistake we've made?
Will we regret that we're the losers in this shameless game we've played?

Lynn Chastain Dearing 1995©

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