Urban jungle, yes literally, not metaphorically,

though maybe more like a ghetto forest.

Leading the determined coalition, is one sleek fox,

low lying, white tipped tail, like a log on legs.

Following fellow fox is great black bear, also

in forceful forward motion, head level, purpose

in his gait and onward gaze, alongside the girl.

She, decked in tartan plaid skirt, red cap

and sweater, strides along friend bear

among the graffiti’d concrete landscape

peppered with spare thin trees, once patterned

for park pleasure seekers and outdoor fun.

In ruins now, no one in the neighborhood

respects the land, so the conservationists

have taken up extreme measures for the cause:

the children and the animals, who will inherit

the earth when the mature of the human species

go extinct, march forth to the city council meeting

to state their piece: “Who will speak for the trees

and the bees before they’re completely gone?”