Neighbors

by Jo Elizabeth Pinto

We are neighbors with the dolphins

As they dance atop the waves

And then drown among the tangles

Of the wicked fishing nets.

We are neighbors with the eagles

As they soar among the clouds

And then eat the farmers’ poison

And drop heavy from the sky.

We are neighbors with the elephants

As they thunder on the plains

And then fall like mighty mountains

When the hunters shoot them down.

We are neighbors with the forests

As they strong and ancient stand

And then topple in an instant

With the biting of the axe.

We are neighbors on this planet

Yet refuse to give a damn

And our lives will ring so lonely

When our neighbors move away.

This piece appears in my newly released book of nature poetry, “Dancing with the Seasons: A Year in Simple Verse.” The book is available in paperback and ebook formats on Amazon.

Bio

Jo Elizabeth Pinto was among the first blind students to integrate the public schools in the 1970’s when federal laws allowed disabled students to be educated with their peers. In 1992, she received a degree in Human Services from the University of Northern Colorado. While teaching disabled students how to use adaptive technology, she earned a second degree in 2004 from the Metropolitan State College of Denver in Nonprofit Management. She freelances these days as an editor and a braille proofreader.

As an author, Pinto entertains her readers while giving them food for thought. In her fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, she draws on personal experience to illustrate that hope is always an action away.

Pinto lives in Colorado with her husband and their teenage daughter. Their family also includes Pinto’s guide dog Spreckles, a poodle/Maltese mix called Leo, and an aging family cat who answers to the name Sam-I-Am when he feels like it.

Find Jo’s books here.