Image © Sam Cannon Art

The Badgers Lament – By Andy McGeever

We dig and burrow, sniff and scratch, roll and stretch and play
We love it here, the world is ours, it’s always been this way
We raise our young amid the trees where fox and deer abound
But lately we’ve been spending more and more time underground

At night when most are sleeping when it’s safe for us to roam
Like silent ghosts we pad around our woodland forest home
There’s little here to harm our kind, our lives are filled with fun
But instinct tells us, be aware, a change is soon to come

As sunset brings our kind to stir, we’re up and out of bed
We slowly make our way outside to plan the night ahead
The woods tonight seem different, something doesn’t feel quite right
Like strangers eyes are watching us, lurking out of sight.

What happened next was new to me, something I can’t explain
I’ve never seen a flash so bright, or ever felt such pain
I try to run but I can’t move, I scream so loud and cry
Please help me friends don’t leave me here, I do not want to die

Again and again the flashes come, my family fall around
All I know and live for now lays scattered on the ground
Life gently ebbs away from me, my final painful breath
I rest my head against my cub and face my lonely death

The home I leave behind me now will never be the same
Our ancient set is empty now, and slowly fills with rain
Our history and our heritage destroyed within an hour
By those who long to kill for fun to feed their need for power

I’m off to play now, in the sky, but just before I go
Will those of you who care about me, those of you who know
Do something now to help my kind, for all those who remain
So badgers all across the land won’t suffer like me again.

© Andy McGeever 2013