who listens to the Earth?
who now hears her impassioned plea
for mercy?
who speaks for the Earth?
who watches as she burns?
who strips her of vital soil,
teeming wildlife, and helpless trees?
think of eons past
millenniums of slow, ponderous
growth
and realize the Earth to be
so much older, wiser than we
feel the Earth breathe and sigh
a living being, one harmonious
organism,
so much greater and more lasting
than we
splendid diversity,
ever-changing patterns,
interwove, interdependent,
intertwined by life’s essence
yet each plant and creature an
individual,
uniquely precious
who listens to the Earth?
who will now hear her call?
who among her children is worthy
to inherit,
to be reformed by her coming natural
judgment,
and learn to love again
her calm and ancient living voice?
- T. H. Keyes
