Poem for World Environment Day: The Earth is Not Silent

The Earth is not silent.
She speaks in melting ice,
in rivers that run too warm,
in forests burning where green once breathed.

She speaks in storms that arrive without warning,
in winds that carry dust across fields
where crops once grew.

But still, there are voices
who say, “There is nothing to fear.”

Still, there are towers of glass and steel
where profits are counted
while coastlines disappear.

Pipelines carve through the bones of mountains,
smokestacks write dark sentences in the sky,
and some leaders look away
as though tomorrow does not exist.

Yet the Earth is not silent.

She whispers in seeds pushing through cracked soil.
She sings in young people marching through city streets.
She rises in communities saying:

Enough.

Enough poisoned water.
Enough forests turned into fuel.
Enough promises traded for short-term gain.

Because this planet
is not a resource to be emptied.

It is a home.

And homes are defended.

So, we plant trees in stubborn soil.
We protect the rivers that remember our names.
We stand together,
scientists, farmers, elders, children,

until the tide of care
becomes stronger than the tide of greed.

The Earth is not silent.

And neither are we.

© Revd George Mwaura