by Jane Prinsep

Created on: December 26, 2009

Our beautiful planet; home to a troubled world
Desert plains, sandy shores, snowy peaks and mud flats
Pockets of paradise; the stomping ground of “civilised” nations
Gate-crashers hell-bent on taming wilderness

Encumbered, she snaps; the planet finally rebels
Tossing high-rise buildings like pick-up sticks
Rinsing millions from flimsy coastal homes
Shedding her tired skin of unwanted residue

During the subsequent stillness of devastation
Many questions rear ugly pronounced heads
Uncomfortable “truths” peak from under carpets
As we all quietly wonder or scream loudly, “Why?”

I have known this threnody of silent screams well
It echoes in my head, demanding justification
As to why tragedy has come knocking at my door
And has often succeeded in overpowering me

When I cannot see the wood for the trees
And I cannot be sure if you are listening
I shut out the screams from countless millions
And search for you within my own little world

When my father lay dying, his body defeated
His mind failed and he did not know me
His heart was still beating, but he was gone
I was alone; crying a twelve year old’s river of tears

When an unknown monster sat on my chest
A knife held at my fourteen year old throat
My body remained intact but my innocence
Was violently torn from an empty shell

When the birds began to sing one dawn
And I held my new baby girl in my arms
You were there whispering on the wind
That gently blew in through the open window

You held me with warm arms of companionship
You urged me to find the strength to trust again
You assured me I was worthy of Motherhood
Nameless and faceless, you were there

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