Wounds gape in the rueful earth br Seeds of qualm succumb to fear. br Current crops' resilience wanes br Cracks open tearing deep, deep down br Beyond the fragile pumped up surface br Past horizons of uneasy ancestral bones br Imperfect, strong but true, br To fragmented roots of primeval forests, br Beneath whose gnarled and protective boughs br Dreams sprouted and so oft' a brilliant yield br Projected, feeding hearty minds br Nourishing and illuminating to distant fields. br Now with its wisdom the forest has gone br Natural resources dwindle br Wealth has made us poorer yet br Dreams can't escape the spindle, br Seeking now by yesterday br Against the future we borrow br Modify crops, sewing spin and swindle. br Reap new enemies on the morrow, br Treaties to prosecute foe defeated at war br No longer have Geneva currency br From only two generations ago. br Empire seizes resources at will br Invisible are its ignorant and poor as br Wretches gormandise needily on admiration and sway br The rights of the individual assured with impunity br Elevate each to demigod, way above the state, br Credit gorge purchases, offered up to growth br Fleeting empowered fix to elusive purpose. br But without blissful feedlot consumption br The state would soon abate, br So with a holy book in one hand br And a smoking gun in the other, br They and the almighty stride br As bands and sols divide br Sacred fabric unravels br Threads unwind in a free falling spiral br Until each tatter of fibre is dispersed, br Inheritance of the jolly quest, moribund, br Ephemeral seeds but remain, br Near the barren wellspring br Where they discarded fell, br No end in sight; long dry spell.