I am one of 7.7 billion children of Mother Earth

My first tattoo at 18 was the Earth on my inside right ankle.
I exchanged cash for it just off the interstate somewhere in Alabama.
It was only of the Western hemisphere though,
A myopic view that caused much embarrassment later as I traveled.

It was a testament to what I thought I was.
An Earth lover, a tree hugger,
A Capricorn, an Earth sign,
A daughter from generations of farmers.

Yet, I am a lazy Western capitalist,
Too often picking the easy route or convenient options.
Raised in beliefs of individualism and competition.
It’s on me and the system, and yet.

I recycle. I compost. I donate. I garden. I beekeep.
I still hug trees, I mean, how can you not!
I carry bamboo straws in my bag to ease my guilt.
Little technical corrections, how cute.

I could walk or bike more,
But I drive more often instead.
Comfort and convenience will be the death me,
And the Earth, too, see the parallels.

I am a mother, also,
To a 6-year-old daughter,
Who holds a deep passion and conviction for Nature.
She looks to me for role modeling.

Yet, she is my greater teacher,
As I follow her out the door to protest in the Climate Strike.
Fuck, in those moments I see, clearly, I am also a failure,
To her, her generation, the Planet, to myself.

I avert my eyes from the death around me.
We, humxns, have never been good at facing mortality.
Yet, we are responsible, you and I.
The planet dies. We die. There is urgency. And yet, we sit.

Waiting for the next generation to do the work,
Because it feels overwhelming,
Because it is.
We are distracted by capitalistic systems, comfort, convenience.

No, these are not verses of hope and optimism.
These is a call to find the place within
That knows our humxnly moral and ethical calling
To love our Mother and treat her with respect before we regret.