Dear Earth,
I’m still so in love with you. I’m still stunned into silence by the rolling hills, the endlessness of the ocean and the ever changing sky. The birds that come and go, the insects busy about their business, running the show. The trees, solid; lives spread out so much longer than our own. They’ve seen it all, they’ve seen us come and they’ll probably see us go.
We didn’t deserve you and all your careful intricacies. Humanity, the spanner in the works. I’ll do anything to fix this, but there’s only so far reusable coffee cups and vegan sausage rolls can get you. I am small, I need bigger people, with bigger power to invest their energy in something worthy for once. The most worthy cause, the greatest of goods.
I am lucky, I see all the good, I see how much there is worth fighting for. I can’t imagine how anyone can sit on piles of money, casually ignoring the rising oceans, muddled seasons and marching children. I don’t know how anything can be considered more important than protecting you. Without you, we are nothing. But earth, if we can’t save ourselves, if it takes too long, if the paperwork is too arduous and the debates inconclusive, please look after yourself. I hope in our absence you heal; I hope the animals thrive and the water is clean and the forests grow wild. But let’s not allow it to get to that point.
Earth, I’m still so in love with you, and I can’t be the only one.
Kerala Irwin