A Wondrous World / A Dream

I envision a wondrous world enveloped by beauty. With glorious oceans of shimmering blue, and unyielding mountains of valour. Endless pastures of blooms iridescent blanket the earth between grand trees; ancient pillars of life that tower over the creatures of the land. Rushing rivers and crashing waterfalls pool into calm, clear lakes. Violent storms shatter the sky and peel away to reveal a billion burning lights. I roam around this world in my dreams.
 
I stand on white beaches, exhilarated, as relentless waves smash upon the shore and spray me with an icy mist. I stand above the clouds, atop titanic mountains. In awe my breath is shallow, for the mountains are earth risen to the realm of gods. Beneath the mighty trees I bow. From seed and sapling, these warriors have conquered all. Watchers of the world, breathing life into the very air. Wise above all else, yet majestic and strong. I stroll through the pastures amongst the gentle beasts. Pure and free, they walk beside me as brothers and equals. I marvel at great waterfalls, powerful rivers ending in abrupt falls from grace. I trail the flow to the placid springs of crystalline water. Their brutal journeys’ end, finally peaceful and still. As crooked streaks of light rend the sky into pieces I cower in veneration. A great roar tears through the air as the clouds flash with raw energy. As I roam this world my eyes burn. The abundance of beauty scars my wide and feeble eyes. Blinded, I submit. My eyelids seize and fall.
 
They open to reveal a wicked place. Oceans of oil and garbage roll sluggishly over dead beaches. I stand on black sand as the water stains my skin. Atop monstrous buildings my stomach churns with bile. Below the haze of poisonous smoke, I can see greed choking the pastures of old. I grimace before a constructed waterfall guiding a once proud river to its doom. Passing through the jaws of the beast it is swallowed and distributed by its whim. I wander between dying stumps and felled trees, aching and crying. The very life they breathed turned against them, betrayed, they watched their brothers fall. Ancient roots are left to rot slowly in tarnished earth. I stand silent in a crowd of beasts that ignore me. Fleeting glances and putrid stares toxify my soul. These beasts are neither pure nor free. They have befouled a wondrous world and now stride arrogantly over it. As an almighty crack splits the sky I scream to the heavens; “Extirpate these abhorred beasts! Cleanse the land they have besmirched!” A showering of cruel and bitter cold is my reply and I sink to my knees. This world tears and bleeds my heart, burning it from within. I squeeze my eyes shut to hide the filth. I plead for them to never open again. And I dream of a wondrous world, untouched by man.