Author: Gary Beck Source: https://www.polseguera.com/writers/writing-505_earth-links.html Earth Links Gary Beck/Earth Links   Celebration Independence Day may have meant more in the 1780's, liberty just won, a new nation not yet as corrupt, oppressive, as the old world, new citizens hopeful the eloquent promise of new government would bring freedom.   Smoldering Eruptions of violence sweep the nation reminding us the American Dream has frayed dangerously, setting neighbor against neighbor for mortal offenses, real or imagined, only shocking those still insulated from the pressure of poverty, resentment of inequality propelling many to turn to crime in the ongoing frustration of not having enough.   Flight Risk The birds of Bryant Park do not live in cages, though almost as confined in midtown Manhattan, since they don't migrate thanks to climate change, deforestation, excess concrete smothering habitat. They subsist on crumbs, lunchtime leftovers from local workers, as there's no regular avian food supply in this well-funded park, that forbids feeding birds because enterprising rats claim their share of food. The birds of Bryant Park have a strange life cycle, completely unnatural despite genetic urge ro reproduce in Spring when food is abundant, left by park visitors. The sparrows and pigeons dominate the food chain. Sparrows fast, aggressive, pigeons big, aggressive, so warblers, catbirds, other forest birds without lodgings elsewhere, can no longer compete in the struggle for life. But for several months food is plentiful for domineering birds who reproduce like wild, nourishing their young with food snatched from beaks of those who can't resist. Then the weather changes. It becomes colder. People eat lunch indoors. The food supply is gone. Hunger becomes constant and birds begin to die. The young and weak go first, unable to survive lack of food, the cold. When winter arrives no one eats in the park. More and more birds perish, fragile city dwellers unable to move on to benevolent clime. Only enough survive to repeat the cycle when Spring returns. In the richest city, in the richest country, the death of a few birds is never noticed, citizens too busy accumulating goods to care about creatures that don't affect their lives. In an undeclared war we assault nature with powerful weapons of mass destruction, devastating the Earth without consent of other life forms who share the planet, condemned to death by a selfish species.   Tourist Attraction Physicists speculate about various theories, chaos theory, string theory, too esoteric for liberal arts grads, barely aware of scientist's efforts to communicate with intelligent life in the universe, sending messages, polite invitations, never mentioning to the unwary public that future visitors may not be as benevolent as we pretend to be.   Competition Thousands of spectators attend the Olympic games, billions watch on tv, the internet, smart phones. Every four years the athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, break previous records, yet it often seems all that matters is coming in first, the honor of competing completely forgotten in the pursuit of gold.   'Earth Links' is an unpublished collection that contrasts the work of nature with the work of Man, often revealing our flagrant madness.