You Can

You can crumple an ant’s colony,

but you can’t unswear him soldier.

You can crumble a beaver’s den,

but you can’t uncall him father.

You can burn a bee’s nest,

but you can’t deny his labors.

You can gouge an eagle’s eye,

but you can’t unmake him ranger.

You can saw an elephant’s tusk,

but he’ll still be long in tooth.

You can raze a lion’s mane,

but you can’t uncrown him king.

You can shatter a lobster’s claw,

but you can’t take back his knighthood.

You can gore a monkey’s paw,

but you can’t take ’way his genius.

You can pluck a peacock’s tail,

but you can’t unsee his beauty.

You can hack a shark’s fin,

but you can’t unname him hunter.

You can strip a snake’s skin,

but you can’t revoke his cunning.

You can smash a spider’s web,

but you can’t rob her her talents.

You can scatter a wolf’s pack,

but you can’t unstate him leader.

...

But end the greed of man,

and with that, man is no more.