| 1. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so, | 2. Who penned the woeful requiem |
| As feeble grows thy breath? | For these proud ageless souls? |
| Thy forest kindred, rank on rank, | Ah! Who, indeed, but fools of men |
| Untimely fell in death. | With gross rapacious goals. |
| 3. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so; | 4. Why rest they not in slumber deep, |
| Abrim with tears thine eye? | Anon from trials freed? |
| The souls of those who ranged the seas | The bloodied hand of man, my child, |
| For vengeance to me cry. | Their suffering decreed. |
| 5. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so; | 6. What deed lies yet unpunishèd? |
| Thy peace in disarray? | Reveal the heinous sin. |
| The crimes against each cattle-beast | Against mine everlasting law, |
| Torment me night and day. | Were made consume their kin. |
| 7. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so, | 8. Pray what evokes such horror in |
| Alone in anguish dread? | Thy wond’rous orb of life? |
| The innocents of human kind | Hunger, thirst and pestilence, |
| In millions perished. | Hatred, war and strife |
| 9. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so; | 10. Whence issued such defilement forth |
| What ills disturb thy rest? | To stain thy fairest part? |
|
|
From out the working-place of men |
| Contaminates my breast. | It pours into my heart. |
| 11. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so, | 12. Whence the torrents’ savage scourge |
| Lone on thy bed of pain? | Afflicting thy sweet face? |
| My countenance, O child of time, | From poison i’ the smoke of fires |
| Is gnawed by searing rain. | Lit by the human race. |
| 13. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so, | 14. What sullied the apparel frail |
| By fever sorely spent? | That wraps thee closely round? |
| My cloak of coolest gossamer | The cruel fingers of mankind |
| Is threadbare, pierced and rent. | Its weaknesses have found. |
| 15. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so; | 16. Swift, the malefactor name |
| May I no comfort lend? | Who wrought this baneful deed. |
| Victim am I of constant rape | The human race (from out my womb) |
| I fear will never end. | To satisfy its greed. |
| 17. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so, | 18. Whose eye sees not thy suffering, |
| Full racked in misery? | Heart touched not by thy plight? |
| I cry my tears in silence, child, | Two thousand patriarchal years |
| For those who cannot see. | Have robbed men of their sight. |
| 19. O, Lady Earth, what ails thee so, | 20. What hand would dare assail thee thus |
| Thine eyes in terror wide? | Or traitor strike thee down? |
| I see on yon horizon far | Mad kings, by science deep enthralled |
| A certain matricide. | Who don a godlike crown. |
| 21. Hast thou no word of comfort then | 22. Which of my faithful children |
| O child of diligence? | As champions rise for me? |
| Many their Mother’s plight have seen | Those who have renounced, as God, |
| And rallied in defence. | Profitability! |
vv 1 & 2 Deforestation
vv 3 & 4 Slaughter of whales, seals and dolphins
vv 5 & 6 Remains of infected sheep in cattle-feed resulting in BSE
vv 7 & 8 Man’s inhumanity, war and neglect of third world problems
vv 9 & 10 Industrial pollution of water
vv 11 & 12 Industry’s bequest of acid rain
vv 13 & 14 Erosion of the ozone layer
vv 15 & 16 Constant plunder of earth’s resources
vv 17 & 18 The imbalance
in all aspects of the human psyche caused by a disregard
for the Feminine Principle
in life (of which Earth is but one facet) and
Christianity’s legacy
of preoccupation with an afterlife to the detriment of
our earthly habitat.
vv 19 & 20 The nuclear threat - industrially and militarily
vv 21 & 22 Diligent work
by caring organisations such as Greenpeace and Friends
of the Earth on overt
levels, pagan-minded individuals and groups of the
New Age genre on inner-plane
levels and all who regard the planet as an
appreciating asset and
a veritable living organism rather than an
inexhaustible source
of wealth and profit.