If the Earth Had a Soul....

If the earth had a soul
(I've heard that it does)
How would she feel
To know that I've walked her hills
Climbed her rocks
Clawed for finger holds
In narrow crevices
Would she mind that I stopped in forest
To listen to the wind
Crackle through red autumn leaves
Felt them crumble
Beneath the soles of my feet
Would she understand
The gratitude I cannot speak
For holding deep to her heart
The dustings of they once dear to me
Now crumbled beneath steps of time
While I await what seems the slow
approach
Of our glad reunion, but which,
I being but a drop
And my life a half-breath
Will find me one instant
A soul of flesh and blood
And the next
A whip of dust
Drifting above fields of grain
Forgotten that once I thought and felt
Laughed and cried
Yearned for joy everlasting
Before I died

If the earth had a soul
(I know that it does)
Would it care that once I lived
And loved
Said my say
Bowed a white head
And went my way



Craig Franklin