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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>176 words:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My Brothers and Sisters Are Dying<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>By DeAnna Quietwater Noriega<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Today I cried for the manatee and the polar bear.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My heart is broken<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>that we have forgotten<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>we are all children of Mother Earth.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We once understood this as the truth of all living things.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We shared clean water,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>we breathed the sweet air.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We were all part of the dance of life.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Then human beings became proud of how clever we were; <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Inventing machines<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>That polluted air,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Ignoring the damage of our greed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We covered the sweet earth with cities and vast factories.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Such clever monkeys,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Polluting water<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thinking that there would always be more.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We kept building and spreading across the face of the earth.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Cutting down forests<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Ignoring the deaths<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of other life forms that were not us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We didn’t believe that we would ever have to pay bac<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>for our waste and greed,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>for our disregard,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>for demanding more than our fair share.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>If we don’t use our cleverness to undo the damage,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>our foolishness caused,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>we’ll die together.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>our children and the blameless manatee.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>DeAnna Quietwater Noriega<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Cell: 573-544-3511<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Email: <a href="mailto:dqnoriega@gmail.com"><span style='color:#0563C1'>dqnoriega@gmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Author of <i>Fifty Years of Walking with Friends<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i>https://www.dldbooks.com/dqnoriega/</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>