The Ambulance Down in the Valley*

Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant.
But o'er its edge, there had slipped a few dukes,
And fallen many a peasant.

The people agreed something would have to be done,
But their projects and funds did not tally.
Some chose a fence at edge of the cliff,
And others an ambulance for down in the valley.

The lament of the crowd was profound and quite loud,
As their hearts over flowed with much pity.
But the vote for the ambulance carried the day,
As news spread throughout that small city.

So a collection was made to accumulate aid,
And the dwellers in highway and alley;
Gave dollars and cents, not to put up a fence,
But to buy an ambulance for down in the valley.

For the cliff is safe, if you're careful they said,
And if folks ever slip and are dropping;
It isn't the slipping that hurts them so much,
As the shock down below when they're stopping.

So for years we have heard as these mishaps occurred,
That the rescuers would heroically rally,
To pick up the victims who fell from the cliff,
With the ambulance down in the valley.

Said one as a plea, it's a marvel to me
That you'd give so much greater attention
To repairing the hurt than to curing the cause
You'd have much better luck with prevention!

For the mishaps, of course, should be stopped at it's source,
Come neighbors and friends, let us rally!
It makes far better sense, to rely on a fence
Than an ambulance down in the valley.

“He is wrong in his head!” the majority said,
He would end all our earnest endeavors.
He's a man who would shirk this responsible work,
But we shall support it forever!

Aren't we picking them up, just as fast as they fall
And giving them great medical care?
A superfluous fence is of no consequence,
If the ambulance works way down there.

This story sounds weird as I've told it here,
But things often occur that are stranger....
More humane we assert than to mend all the hurt,
Is to work on removing the danger!

The best possible course, is to safeguard the source,
And attend to this situation quite rationally,
Yes, let us put up a fence, and then let us dispense,
With the ambulance down in the valley.

* The author is unknown but this poem was presented at the National Wellness Conference in the late 1970’s and was purportedly written in the 1950’s.  It was slightly modified by Troy B. Adams, Ph.D. in 2007.