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I think I shall not plant a tree
I shall not follow this decree.
I'm neither cowardly nor brave
I just don't wanna be a slave
Of any mortal same as me!
God made us free; and free I'll be!
Why should they rob me of the joy
I've known since I was still a boy?
The thrill of growing what I chose-
A pili, mango or a rose!
That's why I will not plant a tree.
I say--- "to hell with this decree!"
Why let the loggers roam at will
Denuding every virgin hill
Then let the burden on us fall?
Where is the justice of it all?
Poems are made by fools like me
But greater fools made this decree!
* A song, Naga Times, 1977,
Republished UP Collegian;
other College papers; even in Hongkong
(Acknowledgment to Joyce Kilmer's "Trees")