A Letter From Mother Earth

Mother Earth it trying to speak to us... but are we listening? Do the voices in our own heads, and the messages of the frenetic world around us deafen us to her pleas? This Valentine's Day, it is important to hear the messages nature sends, to feel the love around us, and to try to return that love in whatever way we can...

Gaia, you call me, and I am your home,

Hearth and heart below heavenly dome.

Born from raging elemental fire, 

Rock, stone and waters, muddy myre,

Life sprung from me and gave me joy,

I cherish each plant, beast, girl or boy.

Each organism and element part of the whole,

My being, my body, my children, my soul.

From the heats at my core to surface rain,

From the oceans to which my rivers drain,

From the winter chill to the summer sun,

It is one for all and all for one. 

From the life that teems below the soil.

To other countless creatures in their toil. 

Time beats on and waits for none,

Cycles turn tirelessly as work is done.

As a loving mother I hold you close,

Measuring out each healing dose.

Providing forests, the air you breathe,

The foods you eat, the fibres you weave.

The crops you tend, the grains you reap,

The peace that enfolds you as you sleep.

I nurture you and provide for your needs,

As you live your lives and sow your seeds.

Yet my heart mourns and now I grieve,

For trees you fell and mountains you cleave,

For rivers you poison and soils you degrade,

For creatures you kill and debts unpaid,

I cry for the oceans, the skies and the land,

For each life wasted and each bloody hand.

I give you so much that you just throw away,

And yet still I love you more each day.

For all the damage humanity has done here,

Still I see good in all that I hold dear.

For each bad deed there is also a good,

A creature protected, a new planted wood,

A landscape restored to its former glory,

Discoveries, art – an amazing story.

Of all the beings that from me have sprung,

You've done so much, though still so young.

I know there's still hope to turn things around,

If we work together and root to the ground,

If we truly cherish all that we are,

If we work to heal each bleeding scar,

Listen to me and it won't be too late,

We'll all avoid a most terrible fate.

Gaia you call me, your ills I must thole,

My being, my body, my children, my soul.

Cover art "Time: Ocean Pollution" by Inês Andias | www.inesandias.com | @ines_andias