Olivia Ashley: Ode to Soil

Though many

goddesses

have walked the Earth,

ones whose

beauty

was admired by many,

none may compare

to the beauty

and power of the soil.

She alone

is

the mother of life,

giving to all

who need her.

She

provides shelter, shade,

and serenity to her inhabitants.

She alone

is

the foundation of an ecosystem,

giving the decomposers

a home of their own

and creating

balance and stability between life.

That alone man cannot do.

Life is plentiful

in the deep

soil:

Worms silently

collect leaves

on the surface, bring

them beneath soil.

Ants gather

in the thousands

to tend

their brood and their queen.

A humble

mole,

like a shovel,

digs

his way quickly

into the ground

to reach his home,

and bacteria

dance happily

with each other

through conjugation.

Occasionally the mother of life

will take

as she pleases.

A lone worm,

blind to danger,

is engulfed

by an army of fire ants.

A happy mole

is greeted by Death’s kiss,

a sleeping seedling

will never awake

to the sun’s bright light.

Although her beauty

is beyond compare,

some still

cannot see it.

They walk

all over her.

They let her creatures,

like the worm,

die mercilessly,

and they fill her

with poisons and toxins

to kill her

other inhabitants.

But some give

her nutrients to grow.

They see

her beauty,

and in so

make her

greater than

she ever was.

Those who see

her life and power

will keep her alive for centuries,

and keep the balance

of the ecosystem

alive for years to come.