A Poem by Central mom Celia

From Orpheus Park

Once upon a time, not too long ago
At Orpheus park where us young moms would go
We’d stand ‘round lamenting about the day’s heat
Saying,“When these trees grow up tall, this place will be neat!”

And those lame sticks grew into some lovely shade trees
And provided such coolness and swayed the breeze
Then the City came in with it’s big buzzing saws
Without any consult, without any pause

And cut ten of our trees without our consent
Though the neighboring people knew just what it meant
Claiming no prior knowledge of the felling of trees
“Well, gee what a great view… 180 degrees!”

And people are saying things about our tree sitter
Oh, “He’s a big liar.” or “He is a quitter.”
He’s a wonderful man who got up in our tree
And took on our issue in our absentee

And whether he’s crazy, a liar or not
The point’s that OUR people don’t like us a lot
My faith in my city has really been marred
For them to treat us with such ill disregard

And speaking of Andrew he taught my young girls
That beliefs stand for something in this unfair world
About peaceful protest and keeping up hopes
And even a little ‘bout climbing up ropes

He welcomed the kids in his sweet little fort
To and from school they’d hold Tipu tree court
Reading books, eating fruit and discussing “green” things
Wonderful, happy Orpheus kings and queens

Please, he’s not the bad guy, stop pointing those fingers
When he is forgotten the stink will still linger
As the problem lies here in our own paradise
With leaders that long ago fixed their own price

And perhaps maybe this time it wasn’t your cause
About which the council made up some new laws
And with the exception of the new gal, Ms. Barth
They relished in playing their big bully parts


After laughing at us and our tree loving ways
When your time comes, not a finger they’ll raise
You’ll see that these people who represent us
Will, in their own interest, throw you under a bus.

It’s sad that their using this to make us take sides
When we’re all Encinitans and have great city pride
A sad lesson for kids about having no voice
But trust me, they’re learning ‘bout candidate choice

Well, the big storm came in and the rain poured from heaven
And they showed up on Monday and took number eleven
And now, to be honest, my heart hurts inside
Some sad disappointment replacing some pride

And the Orpheus Park sweat that dripped down our backs
Is back once again due to our city hacks
The condos are happy that they have their view
And though kids lost their shade, at least they had Jru.