Screaming sounds of power
saws numb your thoughts
Ears bleed, hearts tear
Forests cry
The sun colors the evening in
the hues of the choking smoke
that kills tree after tree
How high may become
the price the future
will have to pay?
" The destruction of global forests increased in 2023, and is higher than when 140 countries promised three years ago to halt deforestation by the end of the decade, an analysis shows.
The rising demolition of the forests puts ambitions to halt the climate crisis and stem the huge worldwide losses of wildlife even further from reach, the researchers warn.
Almost 6.4m hectares (16m acres) of forest were razed in 2023, according to the report. Even more forest – 62.6m ha – was degraded as road building, logging and forest fires took their toll. There were spikes in deforestation in Indonesia and Bolivia, driven by political changes and continued demand for commodities including beef, soy, palm oil, paper and nickel in rich countries. "
...
" Most countries backed the 2030 zero deforestation pledge at the UN Cop26 climate summit in 2021. The 2024 forest declaration assessment, produced by a coalition of research and civil society organisations, assessed progress towards the goal using a baseline of the average deforestation between 2018 and 2020. It found progress was significantly off track, with the level of deforestation in 2023 almost 50% higher than steady progress towards zero would require. "
Deforestation continues
So forests are still destroyed, definitely even worse than 3 years ago. And despite promises. We are not listening to the cries of the forest, to what nature tells us, don't we?
Then how frustrating must this be for all those thousands of people and organisations who struggle day in and day out to plant young trees, to create new forests, to restore and try to protect?
The mouths of politicians, corporations and consumers support them, the hands of politicians, corporations and consumers are holding the chainsaw.
What needs to happen before people realise that we need the forests, that we need a healthy earth to survive as species? Because without a liveable earth no humanity, without consuming much less no liveable earth.
'Forests Cry' is a new artwork in my collection Drowned Earth.

General info on this artwork
The artwork 'Forests Cry' is a digital transformation of a photograph. Printed on order with high-quality ink on museum-quality, acid-free cotton/rag paper (Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308gsm). The work comes in a limited edition of 10, signed and with a certificate of authenticity. But of course, it is also available as Open Edition print, without signature and not numbered. Available in any size you desire !
Maximum size is 255Wx150H cm / 100Wx60H inches, any size available up to that maximum. So please let me know the size you would prefer.
I start with one or more photographs made by myself to create these artworks. Then I use digital painting, color adjusting and adding and transforming multiple artistic textures and effects. I do this until there is a surreal atmosphere that touches me and tells the story I want to tell you.
Prints of 'Forests Cry' are available, ask for a quote or contact me through a message. Prints are also available at Fine Art America.
And here are some more artworks in the Drowned Earth collection you might like:



ALL WE NEED IS LESS CONSUMING
Through my artworks I ask you to reflect for a moment on the nature around you, on the beautiful feeling that nature can evoke. Thus to think about your actions to support the wellbeing of the earth and everything that lives on it. And on what humanity loses when many of us continue on the destructive path of ever more greed and consuming. And please, reflect on how you can survive in this rapidly changing world…
So do you want to know your ecological footprint?
Then visit this website: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en
And do you want to reduce your ecological footprint?
Then ask me, I will help you. For free. Or simply visit my website and choose in the menu for Your Footprint.
And if you appreciate my writings and art and want to support me, you can buy me a piece of fruit here: https://ko-fi.com/jacobberghoef, thank you 🍏 !
Interested in more? Then read what I wrote about System Change, Man's impact on the earth, Organic Change, Regenerative Agriculture, Regeneration
Sad reality, how many claims to try to improve this situation… thanks again for this share Jacob and enjoy your day
Indeed Laurence. It feels like each planted tree is like a tear brought to the ocean…
You are welcome, and likewise !
This is a crime of the future present – which I have partially written a poem about.
There’s nothing I hate more than the sound of a chainsaw – and that’s just in my own neighbourhood!
Indeed Anthony, a crime… But no enforcement, no sanctions. Rather a reward for bad behavior.
The earth is enveloped in a thick blanket of horrible sounds: chainsaws, fires, excavators, fossil fuel engines…
Herzlichen Dank und große Anerkennung und Zustimmung zu Deiner Poesie in Wort und
bedrückend großartiger Illustration lieber Jacob und natürlich auch tiefe Betroffenheit über immer mehr Abholzungen weltweit entgegen aller Beschlüsse und Versprechungen verantwortlicher Institutionen . Unbegreiflich dieser anhaltende Rauhbau an der Natur, von der unser aller Leben doch abhängt, zunehmende Verbrechen in jeder Art und Weise.
Vielen Dank, liebe Ute. Wenn es nur möglich wäre, es als Verbrechen zu behandeln, obwohl es natürlich praktisch sehr schwierig ist, die gesamte überkonsumierende Weltbevölkerung zu verurteilen und zu bestrafen.