BURNED IT DOWN (A HARVEST ENVIRONMENTAL POEM)
28/10/2012
(This morning in Fitzroy we were celebrating Harvest. I rewrote this old poem for the occassion. In the end, harvest and environmental issues are intrinsically linked. We should not dare to celebrate our own selfish local harvest for this year if we are not going to live in such a way that envision harvests across the world and for years to come.)
Have you ever stood on the Antrim Plateau
Fertile fields as far as you could see
Have you ever turned soil on a Belfast allotment
Picked your berries, potatoes, carrots and peas
Have you ever walked through the Lagan Meadows
Seen autumn colour up your trysting place
Have you ever stopped to give God thanks
For the rain and sun of his abundant grace.
And the rivers were fresh enough to drink
But we burned it down
The air was clean enough to breath
But we burned it down
And our minds were clear enough to think
But we burned it down
Our hearts were pure enough to believe
But we burned it down.
And if today is our horizon
Then we can live to be rich at twilight
But we’re going to cause this sun to set
Our wealth ending up worthless at midnight
I am going to stare far beyond my lifetime
Across a sky that’s clear and blue
Live in God’s wild and wonderful world
So that my children can harvest it too!
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