For some years, I’ve wondered if the ecological movement would benefit from some sort of “anthem”. Part of the potential value of this would be something that used music to unite, inspire and galvanise people. That sense has only increased during protests such as the school strike movement. COP26 has inspired me to re-visit this and I’ve written the following. I have tried setting it to music, but I’m not sure that I’m going to get to a point I’ll be happy enough with that to share it. I’m therefore posting what follows without music rather than it potentially waiting for me to make more progress.
A single tree I picture in my mind,
Why lose even one – how could we be so blind?
Like a long-lost friend, whose presence is a gift:
We bask in their beauty to give our souls a lift.
When they come together in copse or grove,
Roots will entwine to become a treasure trove,
Cathedral-like they rise up into the sky,
A green-hearted tower to bring tears to your eye.
The trees have no voice unless we are their voice.
Now is the time.
This is the place.
We are the change.
Each tree that flowers or bloom of any shade
Will call the bees – without them we’d be dismayed:
Swiftly overlooked, but crucial for our food,
Attracted by pollen, to bring us so much good;
Fragile wings and bodies, yet they combine,
Showing us how perfectly nature aligns.
If solitary, in hives, they fly to and fro,
Ensuring that plants to harvest will grow.
The bees have no voice unless we are their voice.
Now is the time.
This is the place.
We are the change.
If sweet are the bees, then salty are the seas;
Our Earth’s life-blood needs to be free from disease.
Cleansing and calming – waves which soothe our stress.
Our task is to protect them from our human mess.
Unseen depths migrate onto beach or shore,
Linking us with mystery, filling with awe,
Respectful of their power, protecting their store
Of what lies below, beneath the breakers’ roar.
The seas have no voice unless we are their voice.
Now is the time.
This is the place.
We are the change.