Mother

I am roots bedded down in the soil when the storm’s throwing me

I am stuck down stems side by side with petals for my eyes

Swaying up to stormy skies searching for the sun –

Mercenaries of wide green leaves

Marching in time with sergeant trees on the backs

Of tectonic horse earth plates ebbing with the sea.

My sustenance is in the soil, in the earth where our bodies toil

Centuries of roots ploughing down into earthworm thrones

I am leaves spreading outwards wide from my home

I am life –

These thorns in my side are my battle scars

But my rivers nourish these stems, so

when the fungus comes again, we will beat it and we will grow –

This environmental evolution is not for your show

I will not lose myself to a rotten core

These branches will strengthen and reach further, wider, more

There is chlorophyll in my veins

My nature grows luscious and green in times of rain

And I survive

Nah, fuck that – I thrive.

There is a rainforest blossoming inside of my soul

An ecosystem, varied, fertile and whole

I dare you to try and trample these roots

I dare you to watch these wild-fired remains springing into new shoots

Please pour your pesticides into all of my scars

This garden cultivation takes years not hours

So do not fall –

Do not give up when these shoots aren’t reaching out right

Do not fear when your petals are dim to the light

Your stems and friends are holding you strong

Even when this green glasshouse is going all wrong

The strongest storms are just there to test our foundations

But these roots spread wide enough to support a garden of nations

With this resilience, I guess you could call her Mother

and when the winter frost comes, sit tight with me until summer

I will ride out these rising seas with you

And there is succulence to the things we will do

There is nature in this –

Hold me warm under your sun and I’ll be basking in bliss

We’ll create an Eden under the trees,

But don’t forget our thorns while we’re lying on leaves

We are seedlings grown strong from our ordeals

Darling, drink in the nutrients of ourselves and be healed

When the plagues and the locusts swarm,

I will hold you in my leaves and keep your tender heart warm, if you let me

Darling, take my hand when the diggers come

Shelter with me when it’s hot beneath the sun

And when the earthquakes come and the ice caps melt

And we, all of Nature’s forces fail to help

Our roots will keep us grounded and steady

This Mother Nature in me, in battle I will be ready

Do you see there is nothing impossible in me

There is growth and progress in this fertility

In these fertile soils where my desires run deep

My arms will reach up to the tallest trees and hold on

Hold on with me, by my side and be strong

I am channelling potential through all of my veins

So sink yours in with my mine and we’ll keep this world sane

And when we feel the fracturing streams of society

Tangle your roots in with mine and grow there with me –