Once, we loved her
Cherished her as a selfless mother
Humbled by her grace,
We sought divine mercy in her embrace

We revered the scent of her hair
At her feet, we rushed to prayer
In her lap, we grew wise
In her beauty, we found the Divine

She was beauty and light manifest
In honouring her, our souls were blessed
In preserving her,
We fulfilled the divine order

Only when we forsook our station
As His slave and agent,
Allowing material desire
To snuff our light and fire,

Did we become nature’s conquerors,
Promethian industrialisers
Our sole motivation, intent
To secure a worldly end
We manipulated, destroyed
Forests, seas, soil
For concrete, smog and plastic
Opulence, power and profit

Now we only have a small window of time
Before we lose the little that survives
Our only hope is to reclaim, revive
The divine role we cast aside

No green campaign can truly succeed
Until we humbly accede
We are not masters of the universe,
We are her humble agents

Let us awaken to responsibility
Before He looks us in the eye, squarely,
Asking plainly,
‘O humanity, how did you fulfil your sacred trust,
To serve and conserve this beautiful earth?’

Fatema Valji | @fatemavaljipoetry
From ‘Who am I? A Selection of Reflective Poems’
published by Sun Behind the Cloud Publications.