Pleas of Mother Earth

As the sun rises everyday,
I observe with dismay
The ever encroaching desert
Pushing back the forest
Where animals used to play.

Where is the gratitude for the bounties
I gave to you for free?
The forest to sustain you
I don’t see a single tree.

I can’t bear anymore, the incessant war.
There is pillage in the global village.
You are not heeding my warning
The poles are melting with global warming.
Deforestation is making me shudder
Shame on you for denuding me,
After all I am your mother.

And yet I glimpse through the pollution,
Sometimes a rare pristine solution
Wisely balancing need against the greed.
That’s when I start to dream
My planet is again turning green.

I have given you the ability,
Now show the responsibility.
Each one of you, do your bit, and show restrain
Then all of you, forever, I will sustain.

O people of the world, I am your Mother,
I beseech thee.
The hour of no return is near,
My last pleas, do you hear?

O people of the world, I am your Mother,
I beseech thee.
Please listen to my pleas,
My last, desperate, pleas.


Sukhvinder Singh Jutla 23 September 2007