The Mad Agriculture Journal
Good is Happening
Published on
November 01, 2019
Written by
Tanner Starbard
Photos by
Will Sardinsky
Good is happening
Lest we forget
To smile and laugh and play
To revel in nature
Doom and Despair
Feast on our misery
Thrive on the story of malady
Perish in the persistence of Good
Good is happening
And we are in it
Away from it
Happening because of us
and nonetheless
Urban food deserts into gardens
Make the poor, rich
New wealth, again
Is abundant nutrition
Little patch of prairie
Sits patiently by
With soil like chocolate cake
Amidst the industrial farms
An old fence fell
Yet the cows stayed home
Greener pastures
Are already here
A man walked by
Right across my lawn
Good evening I said
And it was
Somewhere in the woods
The plains
The desert
A worm eats lunch
Good is happening
Sometimes we see it
Sometimes we don’t
If good happens in nature
and no one is around…
Not all is right
Soil, water, roots
Washed away
In a flood
Swept away like filth
A lifeless pile of dirt
Soaked in fake life and real death
Earth molting
Clear cuts and dead zones
Same same sameness
Riverbeds cemented over
Humans control Nature!
Almost there!
Cut that down!
The future is sterile!
Maximum dominance.
A sprout pokes out
From a concrete crack
Widened by snow
Started by moving earth
It grows taller
Towards the sun
Roots deeper and wider
Making fissures in the pavement
By now, the new is gone
Maintenance was too much
No longer could plants die
To keep the cement clean
Shade of tree
Smell of grass
Ants carry sticks
Such a simple joy
Good is happening
It never went away
We yelled and stomped
We turned our backs
We thought we scared it off
When it went around the corner
But good has other plans
And deep roots
Good is happening
It’s a sprout
A tree
A shaded stream
Lay quietly
Or sing with all your might
And you have found it
And let it free
Good is happening
The Wild is coming home