By Annika Blackburn

Beauty
The dainty, pink-colored petals of the marigolds catch the sunlight
In a rainbow of mountain dew
The bluejays hum
As the forgotten squirrels gather the shells of spoiled acorns
Beauty

Bulldozers plow
The excretion of riches fill the ground
Bulldozers plow
Sorrow fills the earth
A chip of beauty falls from the earth
Into the bucket of greed

Smog
Hot, muddy, fog
The dust of man
Gathered into a cloud of smoke
Oil and money
Left behind
A chip of beauty falls from the earth
Into the bucket of greed

It warms us
Controls us
Lives within us
Buildings
Toys
Ziploc Bags
The world
Tangled in the net that bears prosperity
A chip of beauty falls from the earth
Into the bucket of greed

The dainty, pink-colored petals of the marigolds catch the nothing
In a rainbow of mountainous garbage
The bluejays wither and die
As the boney squirrels gather the emptiness of the world
Ugly