The cries of Mother Earth

You are born of me

I may be the Mother to Billions of species including you,

But from the day you were born I knew I loved you with

every fiber of my being;

From the moment you opened your eyes and took your

first breath, I was the air, you breathed in.

The beaches, rivers and waters, you played in & camped

around as a child were all created from me.

There is nothing I would not give to you my child.

The earth, air, fire, water, ether and love, you depend on

to stay alive came from my very being.

How can a mother do any less for her children ?

My child have I failed you?

The very waters that sustains life are now polluted.

The soil - the part of me, meant to ensure you never go hungry is now

degrading, threatening the well-being, lives and livelihood of all.

The ice caps which once graced the mountain tops are melting,

And as sea levels rise as a result, millions have been displaced.

When the displaced come to you seeking refuge & shelter that is made

from my very being, you demonize them, repudiate them & take

advantage of them, leaving them abused, homeless & alone.

Did I not give you all of me, yet you took parts of me and created weapons

of war, fighting your own brothers and sisters, drawing borders and lines

of hatred, division & claiming ownership of me,

The very lands and rivers that raised you as a child are now blood soaked

and filled with thorns of greed, hatred and divisiveness.

Dear Child I belong to no one and everyone

How then can you proclaim ownership of me?

have been in existence long before you were even born.

I gave you everything, yet you hurt me, destroying the very parts of me that

keeps you alive. Where has this greed come from?

I have given you all of me and yet you remain dissatisfied & constantly crave

more. When will it be enough?

Dear Child there is one universal truth you must understand and that is, this

life is temporary, a fleeting moment, that can be taken away in the blink of an

eye.

Do you really want to spend this short life hurting the Mother that gave you

everything, for wealth, name and fame which are all illusive & temporary?

This Mother looks on brokenhearted as She watches her children become the

authors of their own extinction.

Copyright

Nesha Abiraj, Climate Rights & Justice International