MESSAGE FROM THE EARTH

Deep within the emerald forests of our Ancient Lands
Dwells the Elemental King of Earth and his Guardians.
They show themselves but rarely to those who lack the Sight
But they often share their company with the Children of the Night!
Whenever I need answers that will help me heal this place;
A home for all her creatures, not just the Human Race …
I walk upon her Golden Sands and o’er her Fields of Green
Where hides the Spirit teachers of what our Mother once had been.

As they talk to me of wonders lost within our ancient past,
I long to share their memories of such beauty unsurpassed.
From deep within my consciousness a resonance began
That opened up my inner sight to the birth of modern man.
I found myself deep within those ancient forestlands,
Entangled in the vines it spawned with boughs instead of hands!
A mighty tree had I become with roots that reached into her heart …
At one with Nature’s wisdom; my role a vital part.

My leafy branches served as food and shelter for the bird,
The hollows of my trunk a haven for the furred.
Without me in their life the creatures wouldn’t breathe at all;
I purify their air, I give them shelter when rains fall.
Before humans trod upon this wild, untamed place
We trees were living sentinels, a part of Nature’s face.
When first Mankind began to spread across our many lands,
They seemed to understand their role; fit in with Nature’s plans.

Alas as time went on Mankind began to grow apart,
They now became our murderers … no mercy in their heart!
Where once a mighty forest with its denizens had stood
Were fields of food for humans and shelters made of wood.
So proud were they, these humans, of the changes they had brought;
Their only thoughts of how the earth could give them what they sought.
The simple life was not for them! (they were heard to say);
Why should they share the bounty if they struggled in this way?

“Let’s cull the beasts that share our food so we can have it all –
They’re taking what belongs to us!” became the frightened call.
Where once our Earth had flourished, devastation took its place;
The forests and their occupants almost gone without a trace.
Now human beings everywhere face struggles unforeseen …
No longer is the water safe or the air they breathe as clean!
With arrogance they tore down all that gave them life, you see;
What price the childish notion that possessions set them free?

© Sandra Anne Beal