Preservation Instead of Construction

In the three poems, “Front Lines,” “Control Burn,” and “Black Mesa Mine #1” Snyder writes about construction, industrialization, and the preservation of nature.  Long before the United States was civilized by Americans, Native Americans lived on the land and respected it.  They did their best not to destroy it and lived in harmony with the nature.  The Americans however did not and still to this day do not treat the land well.

            In the poem “Front Lines,” Snyder begins by calling the industrialization of land “cancer.”  He describes trees being cut down, reality companies coming in, jets beginning to fly overhead, and the sound of bulldozers.  The poem ends with a Native American group drawing a line to claim their land, which will most likely be taken over by the Americans and industrialized.  In the poem “Control Burn,” Snyder also writes about the Native Americans.   He explains the careful way that the Indians treated the land and implies that the land today is much different from then.  The poem ends with Snyder hoping that the land can be changed back to its natural state, the way it was when it belonged to the Native Americans.  The poem “Black Mesa Mine # 1” also has a similar theme.  It starts out with a description of construction occurring to land and then ends by mentioning a nearby Indian living site, which is abandoned due to the construction. 

            All three of these poems connect and speak of the hardship Native Americans face with their land being taken away from them.  Snyder wants his readers to realize construction destroys nature and instead it should be preserved and treated with respect like the Indians have done.