Prayer For A Ruined Earth Poem by Gert Strydom

I. You that are almighty

At the beginning You that are almighty
spoke mighty words,
reaching Your hands out to the darkness
and defined the existence of all things

letting light come out of total darkness
with the first morning breaking
causing stars, comets and planets to break free out of nothing
and with Your immeasurable power and knowledge

caused life to come forth from the nought
forming man to your own image
and long before this,
even before the fall of man, forgiveness already existed,
You had already decided
in love for the sake of man, on Your own death sentence.


II. You left the wide world to the care of man

You left the wide world to the care of man,
to maintain, to care for it
but in every word and deed man only wanted to profit
with that which declares his glory

and he treated the earth as if it is substitutable
stripped the sea, chopped the woods down
and to man the earth was no heritage
he caused the atom to escape from its nucleus

thought that like a god he was treading in Your steps
chased after unknown devastation,
saw the hydrogen bomb explode with a bang,
dared the destruction of everything living

and on a ruined planet man is trapped,
in a world where everything is starting to hang in balance.


III. Still we know

Still we know that Your almighty hand
rest on all things
and You are aware about a world that is declining,
are aware about evil and hold everything in check.

Out of You who once made our paradise perfect,
there constantly flows wonderful light
while You watch the words and deeds of man,
keeping our existence in equilibrium.

You prepare the way in advance for every human being
and where man fails
destroys each other, cursing one another,
You have already prepared the outcome in advance

and still You determine over the lot of every man and thing
and in wonder we are waiting on Your return.

[Reference: Gebed vir die aarde (Prayer for the earth) by Johann Lodewyk Marais.]