Originally a plea to world leaders at Glasgow’s COP26 climate crisis conference. Inspired by a beautiful winter’s evening when a thick blanket of snow covered the land. As I pondered on such beauty, I thought of what the blanket was hiding. Beneath the surface lay all the damage we have inflicted on our land!
The sky is clear, the air so still, the moon it shines so bright,
And snow lies thick upon the ground and softly muffles sound.
As I look out, I see a world with wonders to enjoy,
Exotic plants, animals rare, and mountains to explore.
Earth gives me all I need to live and fills me with delight,
It shows me beauty beyond compare; it makes my soul rejoice!
It`s little wonder the ancient ones protected it, offered it no harm.
Respectfully they took from it what daily life determined.
With heart and mind all understood that Earth needed to be cherished.
The sky is clear, the air so still, the moon it shines so bright,
And snow lies thick upon the ground to muffles warning sounds.
As I look out, I see a world that`s been pillaged and debased.
Ruthlessly exploited for its resources and its treasures.
Ancient trees and jungles green plundered and left burning,
And stripped of trees protecting the precious land,
Rivers choke with sludge and waste, as hills just slide away.
Snow-capped peaks and glaciers wide are melting and eroding.
Canyons deep and animals unique destroyed by human exploitation.
The sky is clear, the air so still, the moon it shines so bright,
And snow lies thick upon the ground; Earth`s cry for help ignored.
As I look, I see a world that has been ransacked and polluted.
Factory waste, and garbage foul, into seas and streams excreted.
The fish they gasp, they starve to death, are tortured in debris.
Waters teeming once with life now barren stinking fluids.
Air replenished by seas and trees, converting to choking gas.
Oceans rise; wind driven sands choke fertile soil; fires now burn free.
Animals die as treasured land is flushed into dying seas.
The sky is clear, the air so still, the moon it shines so bright,
And snow lies thick upon the ground; Earth`s dying scream repressed.
As I look out at wonderous Earth it`s hurtling towards destruction,
Time is short, the end in nigh, for humankind and nature.
Our air is full of toxic waste, soil and water slowly poisoned,
Drought and flood slaughters life; temperatures rise and plummet down.
Little time to right the wrongs inflicted on our Planet, we need to act,
Our Earth rebels, oh hear its cry, we owe it this last favour.
It served us well, this loyal friend, please save it from extinction!
More on the environment:
Subscribe to our newsletters
Each of our Bylines sends a newsletter every month and we also send out a ‘Best of Bylines, featuring a selection of the best articles from across the network
