Songs for the Soil

Soil grazes beneath our feet

A second thought, a silent soul

Bearing the weight of all the world

While we run above, to fleeting goals

Seeds of life are fed beneath

By a mother breathing through the land

Fertile, patient, ever-nurturing

Letting fresh fruit fall in our hands

She remembers the people’s stories

The floods, the droughts, the first harvest

For all the ones who walked before

Now sleep in her arms in earnest

Layer by layer the soil builds

A place of life, death, then rebirth

If only we cherished all that she gives,

We would not have the heart to step on her worth

Listen for the birds who sing to the soil

To her strength and her endless breadth

For only if we turn away and forget,

Will our footsteps lead to her final breath