RECIPROCALLY

They fled their present
to return to the earth,
going to a time
where they could appreciate the land
and love it
as it was meant to be loved:
reciprocally.

They visited the past
when the world was new
and man hadn’t yet mutated
his surroundings.

“We shall make a covenant
with the environment,”
the time traveling hippies swore,
“and ensure that the world
remains holistic
and holy.”

“We will do better than our ancestors,”
they agreed amongst themselves,
“We shall make peace with the flora
and the fauna
and the giant reptiles
– which really like more like birds.
Mean birds.
Mean gigantic birds.”

They lasted nine minutes.