The Buffalo Bill

This ended up being one of actor, Dennis Weaver's favorite
poems because of his passion for the environment.

The Buffalo Bill

They cared not for the future. They cared not for the past.
They cared not for tradition, and so, the dye was cast.
They only thought of conquering the people, so they planned
to starve them to submission before they took a stand.
They hunted down the buffalo. They killed them for their hide.
They killed them just because they could, and millions of them died.
They killed them just for pleasure and never gave a thought
to the impact of their slaughter, and what their carnage wrought.
And, only now, we understand what the ancient people knew.
That, the One who made the buffalo, is the One who made us too.
The Creator had a reason. The Creator had a plan.
So that all things He created were for the good of man.
And the ancient ones remind us in their stories and their songs
that the buffalo kept man alive in times that have since gone.
The warnings of our ancestors today are coming true
They said you’ll have to pay and now the Buffalo bill is due.
We must learn from our failures or the cycle will go on
and we will just eliminate what we depend upon.
So, be cautious of the earth and streams. Make sure the sky stays blue
or the next things that may go extinct, my friend, are me and you.

Jeff Hildebrandt, copyright 2002