Lover Nature
I stood upon a precipice
Above a stormy sea
Salty sea spray soaked the air
and also seeped from me
Tears of shame traversed my face
As nature damp’d my skin
I sobbed for wild injustices
And man’s ne’er-ending sin
I cried for crimes of mines and fires
and species made extinct
For plastic isles and plastic piles
and systems on the brink
Deforested old habitats
Pollution-tainted air
Machineries that dredge the seas
and precious few who care
I issued pleas on saline breeze
Despair-tinged with distress
Oh Mother Nature, show me please,
How can we fix this mess?
And standing with receptiveness
and heart turned to the skies
I heard the words upon the wind
In soft instructive sighs.
Child I am not your Mother, no!
and herein lies our plight
You suckle ceaseless at my breast
as selfish children might
You drain me with your endless needs
and take without return
Then wonder why my oceans rise
and thirsty forests burn
You throw your waste upon my floor
Destroy me with your greed
You gobble from unoffered plates
and take what you don’t need
And when my soul is squandered
and you’ve sapped me to my core
It’s then you turn and ask me, worried,
Mum – can I have more?
I let the words fall on my heart
and knew that to recover
We must relinquish childhood and
take nature as our lover
I pressed my face against the earth
My servitude in proffer
And whispered Love – please share your needs
My life and soul I offer
I vowed from here to gently tread
and cherish each expression
of Lover Nature’s beauty and
negate my past transgression
I planted seeds that turned to trees
and let this love take root
I watered, nurtured, sang to them
until those trees bore fruit
The fruit bore food for birds and beasts
who sang appreciation
And soon the birds and beasts and I
forgot our separation
I saw how little was required
to live and love and thrive
Each day I thank my lover
for the gift to be alive.
And when the time arrives and I
must take my final breath
I’ll lie down in my lover’s arms
and offer her my death
I’ll gift my bone-dust to the earth
My gristle to the beasts
I’ll fertilise the dandelions
and let my lover feast
My consciousness will scatter
Through the air on salty breeze
And find its way to those who stand
and whisper longing pleas
And may my lover find the others,
May those others share
’Til all the world is gathered
in this perfect love affair.
