Death of a Rainforest by Cecil Rajendra

i wrestle with a rhinoceros
but no words will come 

i hear tall trees crashing 
wild birds screeching 
a buffalo stampeding
but no words will come

i hear saw-mills buzzing
cash registers clicking
entrepreneurs yam-seng-ing
but no words will come

i hear of press conferences
of petitions, of signatures 
of campaigns & lobbying 
but no words will come

i hear the rain pounding
into desolate spaces
the widowed wind howling
but no words will come

the rhino is boxed and crated
merbok & meranti are gone
above, no monkeys swing
from no overhead branches

below, a pangolin stumbles
around amputated trunks
an orphaned butterfly
surveys the wounded jungle

yes, no words can fill
this gash of malevolence
but a terrible anger squats
hugging its knees in silence

Theme
- destruction of nature
- Man's disregard of nature (to satisfy their greed)
- Desecration of the environment
- Poor enforcement of environmental laws

The feelings and emotions generated by this poem may include :
- a sense of speechlessness as 'no words will come'
- a sense of helplessness
- a sense of hopelessness - refer to line 19 to 22
- anger and frustration is apparent in the last stanza