The Earth's Enternal Need Poem by Vanessa Alvarez

We vow, "The land I'll cherish true, "
Yet turn away from what we do.
The morning sun, the golden sky,
Reveals the truth we can't deny.

In crowded cities, dreams take flight,
Of breathing air both pure and light.
The wealthy travel, far they roam,
To find fresh winds away from home.
But if you're poor, with no escape,
Is clean air just a dream to shape?

The rivers flow, the oceans rise,
But purest water still denies.
What irony that seas surround,
Yet parched the lips on thirsty ground.

We cut the trees, we burn the land,
And still we say, "It's in our hand."
But words alone will never mend,
If action waits until the end.

For every leaf, for every wave,
For every life we ought to save.
The time is now, the choice is plain,

To heal the earth, to break the chain.
Not just in words, but in our deed,
Fulfill the earth's eternal need.