The Wounded Earth

Although this was intended as a tribute to Jan Hadley, whose funeral was this week, the poem went its own way, and became a funeral poem about the wounded earth. And yet it is still a tribute to Jan, who so loved the wildlife, the bluebell woods, and the beauty of nature, that we need to protect.

The Wounded Earth

O Demeter now so wounded
We pollute and weight you down
Now sadly so surrounded
With plastic waste a crown
Where once was farming glory
Now chemicals malign
Yet, though despised and gory
Her beauty does still shine

Our good earth, beaten, suffered
Was all for profit’s gain
In nitrates, the transgression,
The soil in deadly pain
Our food has lost its flavour
How did we reach this place
Let’s heal the land we favour
Restore to state of grace

So for our greed we borrow
Take from the land, our friend
Weep for this dying sorrow,
For lifeless it may end
It may not go on forever
Sustaining you and me
Please let us never, never,
Neglect our land or sea

Demeter once more dying
She calls for you and me
To break the chains, untying,
Unbinding set her free
With new hope now receiving
Peace coming like a dove
Keep faith, don’t stop believing
And heal the land we love