what day is not hers in which we live and move?
where else
would we be our being
and do our doing
than here in the arms of our mother earth?
but just between you and me?
we’re not the greatest kids
we’ve set her on fire and poisoned her blood
we’ve stripped her flesh and stolen her savings
we’ve mined her heart and drained her life
we’ve beaten her senseless and slouched away
more than once muttering promises vowing love
you know the routine
we’ll be in touch see you soon ma where’s your wallet?
she’s getting old she’s
a little off her rocker now
demented she falls a lot
fevered in march frozen in april
she hates herself
for loving us so wildly
says we’re spoiled and blind to wonder
but still in the will
so we come on this day we errant selfish
children and sit at her bedside
hold her boney hand
hear the stories we’ve heard a million times
force our greed-drenched claws to pause
and offer a day (one every year!) of empty praises
dull phrases professing our love once more yes ma
we’ll listen to your trees we say
and learn from your winds
we’ll honor your creatures
larger than our hearts (well
until we can market and sell them like those old furs
those were the days when we robbed her cellars
of coal and more coal and more and the oil that oozed
through our pockets was grand) but oh mother on this day
we’ll pin our gratitude to our wide striped lapels and sing your favorite
songs so hooray for you it’s your special day (hey ma you’re out of ice)
oh say
can you spare us a forest or so? hey ma jeez turn down the heat
it’s like an oven in here gotta go it’s been nice but it’s late very late
and we shall rest on your blue night hills
cloaked in quilted clouds and
warmed by the fire of distant stars our hearts
made restless by your foolish love knowing
we are liars who will not change we will not
change
how can we when there’s
still profit to be made
till the last note
of birdsong floats
to final silence?
© Copyright of all visual and written materials on The Daily Round belongs solely to Catherine M. O’Meara, 2011-Present. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited, without the author’s written approval. No one is authorized to use Catherine O’Meara’s copyrighted material for material gain without the author’s engagement and written permission. All other visual, written, and linked materials are credited to their authors. Thank you, and gentle peace.
THE DAILY ROUND 
Oh my, Kitty. That said it all. Alas!
LikeLike
It’s the way I felt today, as I watched snow, hail, graupel, wind, and sunshine mix it up over my poor haphazardly-covered gardens…I don’t think we’re meeting the climate crisis with as much energy as we’ve met the Coronavirus, and it needs much more. I am hopeful, though, that having leaders commit to any action, even in little increments and with distant deadlines, may free up creatives and scientists to pursue innovations and inventions that will help now and going forward.
Thank you for visiting and sharing, Beth; be safe and well, and gentle peace to you.
LikeLike
What an unusual, brilliant take on Mother Earth! Such a fantastic poem although utterly heart-breaking! xxxx
LikeLike
Thank you, dear one. I agree; it’s sad to see what we’ve done and continue to do to our generous but finite home.
There are many of us who try very hard to good stewards; I try to keep my hope firing. Friends like you, who inspire me through all the ways you love the Earth, make all the difference. Thank you, Snowbird! ❤️
LikeLike