Wednesday, September 18, 2013

GAIA SPEAKS

found at patheos.com - artist unknown

I once was pure,
but then you came in millions.
I watched you rip and tear 
at my bounty,
ravage my pristine hillsides,
frack my innards,
melt the polar icecaps, 
and reconfigure the sky.

Your  nuclear plants leak poison;
your underground "tests" destroy;
you fill all bodies of water with effluent;
your love of beef and oil
is filling the air you breathe 
with noxious fumes;
and your love of money 
is so desperate 
that you would gasp your last
in the grasping of it.

Now, if I shed tears,
will they be acid rain?
And if I smile a golden sun at you
will it burn up the desert?
If my unsettled spirit 
unleashes a mighty wind,
and covers your shores with mighty tides,
can you see how you have provoked
the winds?
how you have flooded the shores?

You have tied my hands
so that I dare not even weep.
Burdened me with grief profound
for the fateful promises
I must keep.

But still I advise, 
as hopefully
as only a mother can:
mend your ways,
or I must return
to how I was
when I began.


Posted for Kerry's cool prompt at Real Toads: to write in the first person of a god or goddess, as if she is contemplating life in the present era. Something I often think about. I chose Gaia, the Goddess or personification of Earth in Greek mythology.


17 comments:

  1. This is quite harrowing to read, Sherry. We have taken the very Earth for granted for far too long, and you have summed up human greed so unflinchingly, and shared Gaia's heartbreak so touchingly. I especially felt the impact of these lines:

    Now, if I shed tears,
    will they be acid rain?
    And if I smile a golden sun at you
    will it burn up the desert?

    We deserve some retribution.

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  2. So true! I especially love the first stanza.

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  3. The earth is not ours to ruin. Amen to every word of this, Sherry.

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  4. Amazing Sherry! Bless the earth and may we all do our best to take care of her.

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  5. and your love of money
    is so desperate
    that you would gasp your last
    in the grasping of it

    ...this is the crux of the poem for me.
    All the ravages of the earth are caused by greed for money and materialism fed by the media and advertising to indoctrinate the young.A bleak future is forecast for this planet.Powerful words Sherry!

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  6. A strong warning for the world here, Sherry.

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  7. What can I say? No one writes about ecology like you Sherry. You reveal your heart. I felt as if I was really getting a direct message from her.

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  8. She seems not just angry but heartbroken as well. You've caught every detail of her distress if she spoke today, as if she spoke through you.

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  9. "frack my innards,
    melt the polar icecaps,
    and reconfigure the sky."

    Perfect, Sherry.

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  10. Your image choice and word choices, especially your flawless rhyme carries your heartbreaking message, her soul piercing cry so perfectly, Sherry. Thank you for your gift.

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  11. strong voice in this write, Sherry

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  12. The earth needs our help and we are going to be cursed if we don't do something quick~ YOUR tribute to the gods is a plea for humanity! This should be heard and recited! Bravo Sherry

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  13. There is such painful truth here Sherry...This is so sad, but yet so beautifully written.

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  14. Sherry,
    I truly think that YOU ARE GAIA, my dear! Her voice is yours. Beautiful.

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  15. The last two stanzas are filled with such yearning ... her plea - her wish that something drastic does not have to befall all of us...

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