A cool morning The leaves rustle without warning The birds and the chickadees The sounds in the morning breeze Up a tree scampers a squirrel With its big tail curl Looking for the nuts It stored before the winter’s rut A cardinal flies through the air With nary a care On the ground, a small brown bear By it scampers a fox and hare Near the opening stands a buck and doe Escaping their human foe All the peace the woodlands brought May all be for naught For expansion Humans sought