"Globus Hystericus" lyrics

What says the tree to his friends the rocks?
When he lives and breathes and they sit and mock
And he grows strong for centuries long
But finally dies and begins to rot

'We will last intact this way!
And you my friend will soon decay'
'But I can breathe - am commensal
The shade, the fruits, the nests on bough
And if, with this, my time finite
I'm glad to have spent it doing right'
But rocks prefer to simply sit
To win none, lose none, just exist

But nary should an ocean rise
They'd become sand and disappear with the tides
When trees ignite a cyclical life
From plant to animal to Earth and back
Whom, even when their roots are plowed
Have left exponential impact

Steel, concrete, technology (etc)
May stand intact for centuries
I say with actions
But faced with wind, flood or quake
Like toys will crumble, bend and break
...what you do with words

And so the greedy, the greedy human kind
To conquer trees tall, mountains high
Erects gigantic splinters of steel
That shame forests, make mountains kneel

And progress spreads like moss on stone
Evolution dictates that men are prone
To outdo those that came before
'You see? We'll last forever more!'

We improve what nature made
We'll challenge mountains, transplant lakes
There is no confirmed master plan
We do it just because we can

But foolish is the one who
Complacently thinks himself king
Because when time erodes the past
What remains are nature's things
Quite Shakespearean duals
Those between parent and offspring are!
As Chronos devours his Son
Gaia to Mankind so starts

Steel, concrete, technology (etc)
May stand intact for centuries
I say with actions
But faced with wind, flood or quake
Like toys will crumble, bend and break
...what you do with words

We won't outlive our generation
But our impact surely will
This - the Rocks' humiliation
When they witness we are still
Alive in what we've left for others
Like Nature gives, so selflessly
So pay respect to our true Mother
And take your rank amongst the trees