from Earth to the moon

I look at gray
a slice of
fall
rising through the tree
and appreciate diverse times
and tones of
voices
in
nature

variety out back and
how astounding
on
the Earth
and in your love
our God
you
give us
so much room with parts we may reclaim
from what you decide is challenge
and
also how we messed the planet
up ourselves

and now
what
to do

the model of your making everything
is to allow for differences
also
discovery through exploration
tolerant interaction
with ourselves
and with
all
nature here
and
as we dare to risk to go beyond and
find the cosmos more so varied if
as fallen
as we have it here

or
we could say with Lewis that
we are the silent planet
that the rest of everything
material
and spirit has been waiting for our carrying
a presence with
a
message and
so how
will be bear
what shall we say

well
the fiction is a calling to ourselves for
real
how we shall carry on the Earth
and to the moon
and bodily
to Mars
and so
with some hopefulness that we might respect
each other on our sphere
and
globally enough to consider
growth to own
with enough peace to
take us
up and on and it will have to be enough

until
we learn as Earthkind
to model
and to mirror
with
so many facets
and to like what we behold
and
care about needs and so
our voice

c l couch

the title references From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne; then cited is Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis; to get perspective on how to preserve planets, we might read The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin

photo by Aashish Chandra on Unsplash