Earth Poems

I wanted the gold, and I sought it;
   I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy—I fought it;
   I hurled my youth into a grave.
I wanted the gold, and I got it— 
   Came out with a fortune last fall,— 
Yet somehow life’s not what I thought it,
   And somehow the gold isn’t all.

No! There’s the land. (Have you seen it?)
   It’s the cussedest land that I know,
From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it
   To the deep, deathlike valleys below.
Some say God was tired when He made it;
   Some say it’s a fine land to shun;
Maybe; but there’s some as would trade it
   For no land on earth—and I’m one.

You come to get rich (damned good reason);
   You feel like an exile at first;
You hate it like hell for a season,
   And then you are worse than the worst.
It grips you like some kinds of sinning;
   It twists you from foe to a friend;
It seems it’s been since the beginning;
   It seems it will be to the end.

I’ve stood in some mighty-mouthed hollow
   That’s plumb-full of hush to the brim;
I’ve watched the big, husky sun wallow
   In crimson and gold, and grow dim,
Till the moon set the pearly peaks gleaming,
   And the stars tumbled out, neck and crop;
And I’ve thought that I surely was dreaming,
   With the peace o’ the world piled on top.

The summer—no sweeter was ever;
   The sunshiny woods all athrill;
The grayling aleap in the river,
   The bighorn asleep on the hill.
The strong life that never knows harness;
   The wilds where the caribou call;
The freshness, the freedom, the farness—
   O God! how I’m stuck on it all.

The winter! the brightness that blinds you,
   The white land locked tight as a drum,
The cold fear that follows and finds you,
   The silence that bludgeons you dumb.
The snows that are older than history,
   The woods where the weird shadows slant;
The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery,
   I’ve bade ’em good-by—but I can’t.

There’s a land where the mountains are nameless,
   And the rivers all run God knows where;
There are lives that are erring and aimless,
   And deaths that just hang by a hair;
There are hardships that nobody reckons;
   There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There’s a land—oh, it beckons and beckons,
   And I want to go back—and I will.

They’re making my money diminish;
   I’m sick of the taste of champagne.
Thank God! when I’m skinned to a finish
   I’ll pike to the Yukon again.
I’ll fight—and you bet it’s no sham-fight;
   It’s hell!—but I’ve been there before;
And it’s better than this by a damsite—
   So me for the Yukon once more.

There’s gold, and it’s haunting and haunting;
   It’s luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting
   So much as just finding the gold.
It’s the great, big, broad land ’way up yonder,
   It’s the forests where silence has lease;
It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
   It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.

Outside my bedroom window
Stands an old majestic tree.
She's been standing there for decades,
Just as proud as she can be.

And every morning when I wake,
She's the first thing I see.
This lovely constant in my life,
So magnificent and free.

I can see the early, rising sun
Peeking through her lush green leaves.
I can hear her moving gently,
In the summer's warming breeze.

She has a personality
That she wants the world to see.
And her moods are ever changing
Behind her silent dignity.

She responds to every season,
In her own unfettered way.
All we have to do is gaze at her
To know what season's on its way.

In the Spring she comes alive again,
As her leaves begin to bloom.
And beneath the sun's attention,
You can almost see her swoon.

And in the heat of the summertime,
When her joy is magnified.
She has never looked more beautiful,
All "decked out to the nines."

And when the Fall comes creeping in,
And a chill floats on the breeze,
She prefers to don more earthy tones,
And does just what she please.

But when the Winter's looming large,
It's impossible to hide
As her barren limbs droop soulfully.
They betray her grief inside.

She's stood by me through all my days.
She's watched me laugh and cry.
She's listened so intently
While I've pondered on my life.

And when I see her dank and weary,
I will sit with her sometimes.
And all the years we've shared together
Will come rushing back to mind.

But both of us are strong and true.
We've become the closest friends,
And we will weather every storm
Together till the end.

Winter is cold, with gusts of tumbling snow,
When rain falls down and nothing ever grows.
For children, it's the snow that they desire
And cups of cocoa in front of the fire.

When winter's gone, the grass grows green again.
Roses and tulips sprout with bright green stems.
The bees are buzzing, the birds are singing.
Sheep are grazing and cow bells are ringing.

And then the sun starts to shine too brightly.
It's so hot that fans are put on nightly,
And so then it's off to the beach or pools
Where people swim about just to keep cool.

All the leaves on the trees turn golden-brown,
And when on the ground make a crackly sound.
In autumn a lot of money you make
From clearing backyards of leaves with a rake.

Each season has its own goods and its bads,
But since they are all different I am glad!

Can earth be Earth when all its trees are gone,
And sudsy waters have become unfit,
And poisoned life no longer greets the dawn
With raucous sounds that death has caused to quit?
Will trees no longer wave, with limbs unfurled,
On hapless earth, that ever in orbit roams?
Will human ego sacrifice the world
To satiate its lust for pompous homes?
Will distant space look down on orb that's bald.
I now can hear the mother say,
"I was once called Earth.
But now, bereft of mirth, I weep.
That treeless orb's no longer Earth."

Lives are crying because it's not clean.
Earth is dying because it's not green...

Earth is our dear Mother; don't pollute it.
She gives us food and shelter; just salute it...

With Global Warming, it's in danger.
Let's save it by becoming a strong ranger...

With dying trees and animals, it's in sorrow.
Make green today and green tomorrow...

With melting snow, one day it will sink.
How can we save it? Just think...

Trees are precious, preserve them.
Water is a treasure, reserve it...

Grow more trees; make Mother Earth green.
Reduce pollution and make her a Queen...

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.
You see now, it's invisible
to the naked eye.

Who has seen the wind?
It hides but shows it's there.
Seek guidance from the sky,
and watch the clouds pass by.

Take a look up at the tree tops
and see the leaves, they flow.
Look down at the grass blades,
and watch them as they go.

Who has seen the wind?
I feel it on my face.
It blows around and sometimes
leaves a messy trace.

Who has seen the wind?
What of it lies within?
Who can show that it is there?
Just look around; it proves it's there.

Mankind! Long before your birth,
alluring was the beauty of Mother Earth.
She bore living things of all kinds...plants and insects, animals and birds.
All, an exotic reflection of her biodiversity,
A diversity you have chosen to destroy!
Why...Mankind...Why?

Mankind! Onto the face of the earth you strolled in,
bringing up the rear in all her children.
You were meant to be the pride of all creation,
but you chose to be the bane of life by bringing destruction.
Why...Mankind...why?

Mankind! To all life, Mother Earth has been so kind!
Like the mother hen she nurtured her little chicks with affection,
as she toiled to provide food season after season with dedication.
Even to you Mankind, she gave the best in proportion
Only to be sentenced by your actions in damnation!
Why...Mankind...Why?

Mankind! You were created to walk but you chose to walk and fly!
If only you flew like a bird, it might just have been perfect.
But No! You fly in all sorts exuding all sorts.
Now Mother Earth is filled with all sorts because you choose to ride in all sorts.
Why...Mankind...why?

Mankind! You have an insatiable desire to acquire.
You plunder the earth with impunity,
Oil, coal and iron you chase in disunity,
fighting even your own kind for control and quantity
just to live a life of environmental insanity!
Why...Mankind...why?

Mankind! Perhaps you have forgotten so soon!
The La Nina drought of 2000, the heat wave in Europe in 2003,
the tragedy of the cyclone in Myanmar in 2008, the constant melting of polar ice caps,
all a consequence of your actions and inactions!
You leave the problems for tomorrow's generation
running away for your present tribulation.
Why...Mankind...Why?

Mankind! When will you repent of your evil ways?
When will you stop biting the hands that have fed you?
When will you love mother earth like she loves you...?
And stop writing her dirge with your actions?
Mother earth looks upon you with her painful eyes
Sobbing and asking you why...
Why...Mankind...why?

Sliding down the milky way as the harvest moon lights the way
This starts my journey through the galaxy
My first stop, Gould's Belt, at 20 degrees.

It was Orion I first met there, with sword in hand without a fear
While Scorpio and Carina sat at the atmospheric shore
Discussing their next voyage, one I wanted to explore

I mentioned I was on a quest to see what the Universe holds
When Carina looked at Scorpio and said, It needs to be shown.
At first I wondered what he meant, for it made no sense to me
But then Carina turned and said, Would you like to join me at sea?

Upon the ship of Argo with Vela as the sail
Carina keeled through the quake cut by Cetus the giant whale
When far off in the distance and much to my surprise
Was Delphinus the Dolphin signaling everything was alright

I pulled out my compass and noticed an awful flaw
When Carina said there is no East or West, my friend,
We go by Kepler's Law

So with each planetary motion
My light show soon began, with Jupiter, then Saturn
With rings of glistening bands

All the planets took their turn in showing off their luster
When all of a sudden, off to the side, particles started to cluster
Hues of greens, yellows, reds, and blues all began to mingle
Creating such a magnificent site my skin started to tingle

This is a nebula, said Carina This is the core.
This is the birthplace of the planets galore
Each planet started with just one spark, searing in it's colors
The nebula makes each color their own all different then the others.

But what about that planet there? I said with a defying glare,
That planets colors are all dim and black
With ugly fumes of soot and ash.

Carina suddenly lost her braggadocios tone
And with sadness in her eyes
She said, That is what you call home.

At one time it was I, Carina, that would sit throughout the night
With hopes that I may catch one glimpse of your planet's awesome site
Your blues, which you call oceans, the greens, which you call grass,
the pinks and yellows of your skies sparkled like effervescent glass

The music that filled the air lulled us to sleep from birds I hear
What are birds? I do not know, other then
Colorful creatures with musical souls

Then gradually your planet started to dim
A thick black dust choked life from within.
No longer do we hear the songbirds sing
What a horrible lost, What a horrible thing

No longer do the song birds sing
No longer do the song birds sing

P.S. From me: THINK GREEN :)