UBUNTU

I am well if you are well,
we say to each other.
That part is easy.
But how can I be well
when animals are suffering and dying?
when the tundra and the icebergs are melting,
and Mother Earth everywhere is crying -

while the general population,
distracted by our many daily woes,
can't open our minds wide enough
to see how far we all still have to go?

I have carried my earth grief
for an age, seeing the beauty blaze,
and the destruction rage,
on this planet blue and green,
once so pristine,
that we have ravaged at such cost,
I can't see far beyond
all we have lost.

My heart holds love and sorrow,
for Mother Earth; can find no ease,
until we make that evolutionary leap
from our long sleep:
see we are as endangered
as wild creatures, starving whales
and old growth trees -
and that to heal the earth
we alone hold all the keys.


for Sarah at Earthweal: who poses the challenge to become connected, not just with other humans, but with the whole ecosystem - such an inspiring leap, and  one we must make if we are to survive as a species.