The sign said "Place Trash Here" but the receptacle was gone

So bright kids in the neighborhood destroyed the sign long

Before a replacement receptacle could be installed there

And so they tore the sign into pieces - and then they dared



To litter the torn pieces all over the road and nearby lawns

And trampled them into the sand & dirt as tho they were pawns

Of the anti-establishmentarianism which so takes our youth

And makes them ornery, vandalistic and in many ways uncouth



So now a pathway has been cut all the way through the trees

And if anyone should destroy the new sign upon bended knees

They will be seen clear - right through the kitchen window 

Which now provides a view right to the street edge and below



So any new defacing, vandalism, or any kind of bad behavior

Will now be seen readily by this kind soul who's a saviour

Who's learned gradually to beat the drum of environmentalism

And will continue to do so forever, or until the message 

                                                sinks in ...



- Tristram