Earth's Lament

I wrote this poem while sitting in a parking lot staring at pavement waiting for my husband.

                         Earth's Lament

I am the earth and I need to breathe,

Feel the wind through my grasses and the leaves of my trees,

Wake fresh in the morning with the dew on my chest,

Wrinkle, roll and stretch from the east to the west,

Bathe in the rain and bask in the sun,

Shine in the moonlight when my workday is done.

I am the earth and I must see the sky,

Deprive me of this, I'll get sick, I could die.

You cover me in black, build parking lots and roads,

Reshape my body for your diamonds and gold,

Draw out fluids from deep within my bowels,

Mine my skin, plug my veins, make air and water foul.

You harvest my forests and the rains fail to come;

You puzzle on this but when all's said and done

You don't change your ways or notice me crying,

I must be renewed!  I am sick, I am dying!

I am the earth and I need to breathe,

Feel the wind through my grasses and the leaves of my trees,

Wake fresh in the morning with the dew on my chest,

Wrinkle, roll and stretch from the east to the west,

Bathe in the rain and bask in the sun,

Shine in the moonlight when my workday is done.

I am the earth and I must see the sky,

Please remember these things, I don't want to die.

by Mary Lynn Tipton