Mother earth, my Motherland

Manorama Das

Photo: Charlotte Harrison

O mother Earth, my mother and provider,

you came into being 4.6 billion years ago.

Over eons and eras, when it seemed forever

you cooled down from a hot burning halo.

As life evolved from microbes to amoebas,

from prokaryotes to mammoths and otters.

We humans evolved into primates with ideas

and spread around to all conceivable corners.

Unfortunately, within a few thousand years,

we plundered and ravaged you for our greed.

As a species, we pursued our selfish success

and didn't consider what other species need.

We pumped in all the carbon into your air,

and we are still changing your constitution.

We decimated thousands of entire species,

through abuse, overuse and over consumption.

Now, we are starting to understand our impact

as climate change results in numerous changes.

From high temperatures we never saw before,

to melting poles and plastics in our food chains.

The underserved and the poor suffer more,

as the rich run to their gilded castles first.

The irony couldn't be clearer than before,

people causing the least damage get the worst.

It is high time that we citizens of this planet

rise up in awareness and meaningful action.

Its time we started treating you respectfully,

O' Mother Earth, with renewed vigor and passion.

Or else, we will lose the only home we know

the only known comfortable and caring planet.

While you will survive unforeseen impacts,

But humanity will vanish before we know it.

::x::x::x::

Poet Manorama Das

is the President of Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parisad, Pub Guwahati Branch, Advisor of Assam Kavi Sanmelion, Vice President, Kamrup Mahanagar Zila Kavi Sanmelion and former President, Guwahati Mahanagar Kavi Kannan. She lives in Guwahati.