Holy Mother Earth
the trees and all nature
are witnesses
of your thoughts and deeds.
Winnebago saying
Earth voices are glad voices
and earth voices come up
from the ground through the plants
And in their flowering
and in the days
before these days are come
they do tell the earth songs
to the wind.
And the wind in her goings
does whisper them to folks
so other folks do have knowings
of earth songs.
Opal Whitely, Age 6
***
As the crickets soft autumn hum
is to us,
so are we to the trees
as are they to the rocks
and the hills
Gary Snyder
***
It is lovely, it is lovely indeed.
I, I am the spirit of the earth.
The feet of the earth are my feet.
The legs of the earth are my legs.
The bodily strength of the earth
is my bodily strength.
The thoughts of the earth
are my thoughts.
The voice of the earth
is my voice.
The feather of the earth
is my feather.
All that belongs to the earth
belongs to me.
All that surrounds the earth
surrounds me.
I, I am the sacred words
of the earth.
It is lovely, it is lovely indeed.
Navajo
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1999
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited