Paradise Lost John Berkowitz
Winter, seductively mild into mid-February,
full moon rising over town,
a hundred geese wing off with soaring voices
from ice-less Paradise Pond.
Walking home from annual a cappella concert–
college kids in ebullient energy and voice–
such boundless potential, yet so up-in-the-air,
in jeopardy from changing climate,
unseen and unheeded by most,
as they and we walk our various busy paths
like the proverbial lemmings,
strolling along the river
toward a very unknown and roiling sea.
