Before we look up to the heavens,
Let us look down to the earth,
and honor our mother, our source, our home.
Without you and your enveloping protection
we cannot live even a minute.
Without you we are nothing but
protoplasm, skin, bone and gas.
The plants that grow upon you
feed us, clothe us, protect us.
The creatures that creep upon you
feed us, clothe us, and protect us.
The air, water and minerals in and around you
shield, support and sustain all of us.
To you we offer our undying gratitude, devotion and love.
We know we have taken you for granted.
We confess we have exploited you for our own gain.
We regret our profligate consumption of fossil fuel.
We grieve the mass extinction of species
that is mostly our fault.
We know we have missed
enumerable opportunities to treat you better.
Maybe we can’t do this by ourselves,
Maybe we need help to stop abusing you
as we mine your tar sands for oil
This motivates my prayer to you today.
You are our mother, you know us better than anyone.
Show us the way to turn our ways around.
Show us how to stop hurting you and start healing you.
Show us how small and vulnerable we are
that we may realize there isn’t
a planet B out there waiting for us.
Help us to discover the meaning we seek in our lives
will not be constructed out of your body.
The meaning we seek doesn’t require us to take from you
but will be found in learning to give to you.
(c) Sam Trumbore (2016)