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FOREVER WILD
WORDS & SONGS BY TRE ARROW
It has been an intense and powerful time these past few months for the people involved
in the God’s Valley logging, the Acey Line cut. This is not a struggle between right and wrong,
good or bad, liberal or conservative. This is a call for us as human beings to set aside these
stereotypes and labels that divide us and further separate us from the truth: that we as a people
are not above or outside what we do to this precious planet
No matter what our religion, color, gender, occupation or political involvement, we
(as well as every living thing) need clean air and pure water to live. The more we decimate
and contaminate the very entity which sustains us, the more we will suffer. Just take a look
around and take a step back that you might see a bit more clearly: the ailments, the degener
ative diseases, the cancer rates, the pharmaceutical dependency, the heart attacks, strokes,
osteoporosis, birth defects and infertility. Do you think any of these things could be related to
what we do to this planet, therefore ourselves?
Whether we are aware or not, we are inextricably interconnected to the very things
we are destroying The water, air, trees, wildlife, micro-organisms and soil give us life, yet
with all our intelligence we are the only species that is ignorant enough to desiccate the very
components that keep us alive. We are the only species which embraces the drinking of another
species’ milk. We are the only species which prepares our food with flame. We are the only
species which wipes out anything that stands in the way of our quest for money, power and
greed. Yet it is we who are suffering, and the majority of us sit back and let it happen.
What are we leaving our future generations to deal with? What kind of legacy are we
leaving? Is this sacred Earth Mother here for us to abuse and disrespect, as cruel and absurd
as an unborn infant poisoning and hurting its very own mother who is doing everything possible
to help it thrive and flourish? The sicker the mother, the more impaired the infant.The sicker our
Earth Mother, the more we suffer.
Maybe it is time to step forward and be part of the solution and not the problem. Maybe
some people feel the sacredness of all life is worth putting their lives on the line.
Every level of our government has failed to protect public land, citizens’ rights, and to
uphold the very laws it creates. When the government cares more about the interests of big
business than people, it is time the people take a stand and put a stop to the injustices which
surround us. If the people lead, the leaderswill follow.
We can direct the impact we have on this planet and every living thing through our
purchase power, our thoughts, actions and words. What we choose to buy and not to buy, what
we choose to eat, how we communicate with each other and nature affects how and for what we
stand.
The spirit and beauty lies in everything: the quiet stillness at night in the forest, colors
dancing across the sky during the coastal sunset, the life giving water flowing from our only
Mother. The more we spend time in nature and connect to this planet, the more we realize the
profound necessity to protect this planet, for all life, for all generations.
May it stay forever wild.
ROBERT GOLDSTRUM
Tre Arrow (aka Michael Scarpitti) was forcibly removed by sheriffs’ deputies from a tall
tree he occupied in protest of the Acey Line cut in God’s Valley near Tillamook last summer. He
suffered severe injuries from an 80 foot fall from the tree including fracturing his neck. He was
arrested and eloquently said to judge and court at his trial in January in Clatsop County Court
that humanity must choose between preserving or destroying life on our home planet. The forests
are Earth’s lungs, he said He received a fine and a year of probation.
A public hearing will be held in Clatsop County Courthouse Room 200 on April 17 at
6 p.m. to discuss the controversial proposed land swap by the Oregon Department of Forestry
of five uncut tracts near John Day for previously clearcut tracts owned by Nygaard Logging
Company. The uncut forest to be swapped contains old growth trees and popular hiking trails
developed over the past several years by Norman Wentworth. If the swap is approved plans
are to develop much of the cutover land rather than reseed.
DEAD, STANDING
HITLER
I don’t deal with the monoxide from the cars
My car has two wheels with handlebars
We have jokers and puppets for our leaders
The spirit and the stars are the teachers
There’s a Hitler in every one of us
Jesus in everybody's soul
It’s up to us to decide who's in control
We should all think a little greener
We should all ask more questions
We should all take more action
And less payoffs
What is the price of your luxury
You drape them over your shoulders and feet
And stuff them in your little bellies
Well, that doesn’t seem so luxurious to me
I know if they could word it how you speak
They’d surround you in their fury
Just because you have a bigger brain
Doesn’t mean they’re yours to claim
Skies hold the price of industry
While old white men gobble up what’s free
Does it make you feel content and calm
Like the pool of pearl in your palm
Kill all the forests nevermind clean air
Nevermind the animals who lived there
Nevermind the sacred wisdom of the trees
Desecrate and excavate us as you please
RIVERBED
I followed the river down through the woods
I felt the stinging in my eyes
My throat began to choke, I could not breathe
I heard the old hard wood cries
I cannot get away
You’ve taken my family, you've taken my son
You poisoned the riverbed, but the river’s my home
Tell me how can you stand there wrapped in your apathy
When 500 innocent children are buried at your feet
We won’t let you get away
I feel my blood running these chemicals through my body
I feel my wounds within growing fiercer every day
For years and years the water has turned us sour
You eviscerate life from us, who gave you the power?
I'm fading away
I followed the river down through the years
Such a horrific sight
I remember the days when the water was clear
Not a cold, black midnight
It’s floating away
Oh, fen halloway
We re all fading away
I watch my sister, she’s fading fast
Then I turn around, my brother has passed
My neighbors, their children, they aren’t here anymore
My mother, my father, well their sicknesses soar
Than I try to fathom: what’s this happening for?
Misogynistic, racist, corporate textbooks
Focus not on your heart and soul but on your looks
Don’t think for yourself, don’t tell us the truth...
What are we teaching our youth?
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