—Ammon Bundy, leader of the armed seizure of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters
The tyranny of cranes, stalking the marsh edge, their rust-red colts gangling behind
The tyranny of warblers, feathers flashing through the leaves in early spring
The tyranny of pronghorn, trying their speed across the unfenced plain
The tyranny of sage grouse, their ancient dance of boom and strut
The tyranny of winter geese, their numbers doubling the blizzard
The tyranny of solitude, the playa echoing the silent moon
The tyranny of butterflies, gliding above the rabbitbrush
The tyranny of desert trout, sheltering in willow shade
The tyranny of water, free of pump and ditch
The tyranny of land, free of sheep and cow
The tyranny of refuge