EARTH IS A GIFT

The trees they teach me
That to breathe
It means you need
To not just take but give

That the Sun
Is life’s sustenance
And the Earth
Is his gift to us

The animals
They speak to me
In languages more sophisticated
Than our own chattering
They see signs in the clouds
Hear warnings in the wind
And share humbly
Knowing life is about reciprocity

Is it too late I ask
As our living comrades
Take the burden
We’ve caused upon them
As they swim away
To find walls of plastic
Fly away but fall
To glass illusions
Run away into
Humans who have forgotten
How it is to live without greed
and violence

Wake up
They plead
Give for once
Or there will be nothing
left to give