I am an Earthling
I walk this planet
And feel this feeling
That on this ground
That which made me
Made me
This body is my substance
I am formed from
The matter of this land
This land is my first mother
She formed all the mothers
On this earth
Who made my mother
Who made me
Made this body of mine
Rich with the materials
Provided by this planet
I am of this Earth
I am an Earthling
Forming the Elements
Yet who made
The original matter
That from which
I am made
Not this planet
I am made
From elements
Forged in explosions
Mighty energies
That crushed
The smaller
Into the greater
Only the most
Gigantic suns
Could collapse
And then explode
Releasing
The incomprehensible
The necessary
Energies
That could make
The elements
That in my mother’s hands
Could form me
Stardust
I am built of stardust
I am iridescent
I am golden
I am a child
Of the stars
But I am
So much more
I am the child
Of many suns
I am the son
Of many mothers
I am an Earthling
In the line
Of many mothers
One mother
Gave me a gift
Most special
She gave me
Life
Mother Earth
Made me alive
So I live
Rich with the energies
Bequeathed by many
Rich with the processes
Bequeathed by one
I know my mother
I know who I am
I am an Earthling
We have little power
To hurt
The elemental origins
Of ourselves
We have great power
To damage
The biological origins
Of ourselves
We know little
We care little
For the supernovas
That gifted us
The elements
Of our bodies
The supernovas
Seemingly care little
About the existence
They gave to us
And have no need
For us to give back
To them
The earth however
Gives us life
Again and again
Over eons of time
The earth gives
But needs
Something back
To care for Her
To do Her
No harm
For to secure
Safe and supportive
Passage for our life
We need to ensure
We do not hurt Her
Through the processes
Of conducting
The living of this life
What do we do
That hurts
Our Mother Earth
We poison the air
We poison the land
We poison the water
We damage
We destroy
The living systems
On this world
We burn
We cut down
The lungs of this planet
The forests and bushes
The grasses and plants
We pollute the great arteries
Of our living mother
The rivers and aquifers
Ponds Lakes and oceans
We pollute with chemicals
Pollute with particles
We tear the land bare
Strip it of its coverings
Leave it
To be scorched
By the sun
Almost dried
Almost lifeless
Fully desert
This is our mother
This is to be
The mother
To our children
What will
Our children say
When the mother
Of us all
Is wounded
Bleeding
Dysfunctional
And not able
To give them
That which they need
To survive
To grow
To flourish
They will look
At us
We went before
And did damage
To our mother earth
We are Earthlings
We are
In such ways
Bad Earthlings
What we have
That makes us proud
That allows us
To live
A good life
To live
A pleasurable life
These things
Are hurting
Our mother
And we
Ignorant children
Live with little thought
For the morrow
We do not consider
What these
Good things
Of our life
Have cost our mother
To produce them
Will cost her
When we discard them
And
Who will pay
To heal her
Where are the doctors
For the Earth
To fix her ails
Where are the priests
To plead forgiveness
For our indiscretions
Where are the lawyers
To argue
We cannot be to blame
When we were not told
What harm
We would do
When we did
What we did
Trying to do better
We try to heal
But we do
Very little
We hope to be forgiven
But we continue
To do
What we
Should not do
We cry out
To say
We did not know
But we do know
And still persist
In doing the harm
And believe
That someone
Will fix the problems
We will
Not change
We have worked
So hard to get
What we have
And we want
More
We do not
Want to go back
To less
So we look
Not to the future
And we look away
From the damage
From the destruction
The lies
Around us
Or deny
Responsibility
Or claim
That I
A single one
Does little harm
So little value
Is gained by
Stopping that
That little difference
Taking Responsibility
Facts have no meaning
If they are ignored
If we mistake
Opinions for facts
Then rebuild
A world
Of subjectivity
Not objectivity
And our world
Is more make-believe
Than reality
Built from
Stories
Not from
Data
If I don’t see
The little harm
That I do
Then I don’t
Have to take
Responsibility
And no one
Can blame me
No I am not
Ignorant
I am an Earthling
What Sort of Earthling Am I?
I am an Earthling
But I
Do not know
That
For who would hurt
Their mother
As we hurt ours
Who is going to soothe
Her fevered brow
Staunch
Her bleeding wounds
Who is going to say to her
Mother
I am the one
Who hurt you
Who cut your flesh
Who tore
Your clothes
From your body
And left your burning naked
In the scorching sun
I am the one who polluted
The very air
That you breathe
I am the one who has harmed
Your other children
Who live here with you
And cherish your land
I am the one
I am the one
I am an Earthling
But I am
The prodigal son
John B. Carlile 