When Mother Nature Held Her
Breath
She looked upon the
citizens of the world
As a tear escaped from
her eye.
She had tried desperately
to communicate with them,
But they had long
forgotten how to listen.
She tried subtly at
first,
Sending fierce winter
storms to keep them stuck in their homes.
It didn’t work.
They continued to
abuse her.
She strengthened her
hurricane force winds
To send another
warning.
The islanders and the
coastal dwellers
Grieved at the
devastation,
But the rest of the
world ignored them.
As Earth’s temperature
continued to rise,
She became angrier.
She screamed at them
through her tornadoes,
Leaving a path of
destruction in her wake.
Still, those
unaffected went on with their lives.
She raged through her
fires,
Destroying parts of
herself,
Crying for the
innocent lives lost,
Hoping and praying
that their deaths would not be in vain.
The people continued
to neglect her.
The icebergs kept melting,
Breaking away and
taking pieces of her heart with them.
But the people didn’t care.
Time was running out.
She had tried to reach
out to them,
To warn them,
But she had no more
time to waste.
She released the
warning that would get their attention,
The virus that would
affect them in the only way that mattered to them
And held her breath.
People became sick,
Then began dying.
Fear spread faster and
further than the virus at first,
But the virus caught
up
And left no one
unaffected.
Humans holed up in
their homes,
Fearful of becoming
the next victim,
And the earth sighed.
The streets became
silent,
The beaches basked in
the emptiness,
The oceans cleared
away the grime,
Animals came out to
play
Without fear of being
slaughtered.
The skies shed their
layers of toxins.
And the people…
Rested,
Learned to appreciate
their loved ones,
Valued the opportunity
to hug one another,
Appreciated life and
love and community,
Committed themselves
to live a healthier life,
And promised to take
better care of the planet.
And Mother Nature
smiled.
I hope you enjoyed my poem. So often we focus on the horrible things that are happening while forgetting that tragedies can sometimes have a silver lining. I am not minimizing the lives lost. My heart breaks for each and every person suffering and for their families that suffer with them. And I hope and pray we find a way to stop the virus very soon.
Still, I believe we can also use this opportunity to recognize where we have been placing our values. Maybe we need this pause to readjust where we spend our time and to what we give our attention. Maybe we can reignite the closeness with our family. Maybe we can make a commitment to eat more healthily to enhance our immune systems and exercise to strengthen our bodies. And maybe, just maybe, we can finally learn to take better care of our planet and all of its residents.
May you and yours be safe and healthy during these trying times. And may you use this time that we have been given for self-reflection, meditation, and peace. :-)
