By Lillian Bradbury
Upon earth’s mantle we take different paths
Some travel across deserts scorched with drought
Or moraine climes where rocks and crags litter
Others cross terrains of wilderness, volcanic matter and ash.
Striatal layers of minerals are laid down.
Marble and gemstones, granite and shingle,
Particles upon particles from sandstone,
shale and rotting vegetation
Flintstone; animals; slate and gasses, dense beneath a crust.
While others may walk meadows, and fields, moors and sea shores,
Feeling the joy of grass, flowers, heather and sand and fertile soil.
Tundra’s, savannas and prairie’s, cover the landscape
And between tides, fossils exposed and sun-dried,
are bleached crumbling deposits.
Quick-sand, wetlands, fenlands and farmlands
Lands frozen, lands of marl.
Heavy with clay and limes eroded with water
River banks saturated with mud and slime with left behind silt.
Valleys left, from glacial splits filled with boulders of rock,
a stony graveyard.
Black diamond, peat, oil and gas lay beneath our feet
Like the sky, the ground is our protection that gives life,
food and heat.
© 2024 Lillian Bradbury
SEO Page Description
“The Ground” by Lillian Bradbury is a beautifully evocative poem exploring the diverse terrains of our planet. From deserts to tundras, rich farmlands to volcanic wastelands, it reflects on the Earth’s geology, its life-giving properties, and the natural cycles that sustain us.
