I remember when the earth was born
When she was young and healthy and free
The forests were lush, the rivers flowed
With the passionate force of the wild
I remember I’d dance in the woods
Wearing nothing but a cape of leaves
Across the soil I’d stride barefoot, to
Bathe in water that glittered like jewels
I remember drinking sweet nectar
A pure clean juice that fell from the sky
I’d breathe deeply, to fill up my lungs
Giving me strength, taking me up high
Yet then things changed, trees withered and died
Skies gleamed red through a shadowy haze
The nights were bereft of starlit gems
Even the moon: she fled far from sight
The oceans bled, reeking of disease
And I shed salty tears for their plight
As I searched and I searched, far and wide
To escape the world’s festering blight
It wasn’t better, further afield
And I sank to the ground in my pain
For I felt the illness of the earth;
I’d failed to help, and I wept in shame