Where Have The Earthworms Gone? Poem by Anitha Vijayakumar

I remember, as a child, the earth so alive,
Tiny worms wriggling beneath where they thrive,
In the soft soil, rich with rain and life,
Turning the earth, in their quiet strife.

They danced in the mud, in gardens, in fields,
Tilling the land with nature's yields,
No farmer's hand could work as they,
Yet they labored unseen, day after day.

But now, I walk the same old ground,
And not a single earthworm can be found.
The soil feels dead beneath my feet,
Once full of life, now cracked with heat.

We paved the roads, built cities high,
Tore down the trees, blocked out the sky.
We poisoned the ground with chemical rain,
And wondered why no worms remain.

We drained the wetlands, dug out the land,
Made forests fall by human hand.
The fields once teeming, now sterile and bare,
Silent as we breathe polluted air.

But these worms, they were more than just small,
They fed the earth, they nurtured us all.
They softened the soil, helped roots grow deep,
Their absence now makes the land weep.

I long for the days when they wriggled free,
When earth and worm worked in harmony.
But we, in our haste to conquer and build,
Forgot the humble hands that tilled.

If we wish to heal this broken ground,
We must listen to nature's sound.
Restore the earth, give worms their space,
For without them, we lose the race.

Let's save the soil, the worms, the rain,
And maybe, one day, they'll return again.