Poetry
Who Will Foot the Bill? (from 'In Kipling's Garden')
So tell me - Just who is going to foot the bill?
The debt is great,
I can't pay.
Please listen to what I have to say.
Just who is going to foot the bill?
What price do you put on a plot of land?
Its development potential, its ideal situation,
Near all the usual facilities and amenities,
And all the lives destroyed in the clearing of the trees
The squirrel’s dray, the wood-mouse hole,
The fox's earth and the little mole
And all the tiny things that no one sees.
Tell me, how high are the fees?
What sum do we owe to Mother Earth
And just who is going to foot the bill?
Listen. For just one moment all stay still
Listen to the silent screams
Of a Mother who has lost her dreams
Her hopes and wishes shattered
As the blood of her children is splattered
And the dream of a tomorrow dies.
What price a plot of land?
A small sphere of rock
In a good situation, close to all amenities,
Heat, light, water, air…
So tell me, do you dare
To count the cost, To do the sums,
And who will foot the bill when the end comes
And all accounts are due?
