I Have Sworn to Protect Her

I have sworn to protect Her!           
Miracle blue-green jewel of all the worlds,
ancient blue mountains, vast golden deserts,
hummingbirds in the jewelweed,
black bear in the raspberries.
I speak for Her!
I howl for Her!        
I howl, “Beware!”
to you who remove Her sacred mountaintops
torturing her body to get at Her coal.
I howl, “Beware!”
to you who go deep within her mineral layers,
scraping away at her core
for your own gain.
But no one gains by this.  She feeds us all.
I have sworn to protect Her,           
this day that She needs us,
when even Her vast blue-green oceans, teeming with life,
are tainted with blood, the black oil of power and greed.
This is the day, this is the hour.
She, long-silent, awaits our voice.
The signs of Her anger are everywhere:
desert, flood, tornado, wildfire, earthquake, typhoon, tsunami.
I howl for Her!             
I love my Earth as my own body!
I have sworn to protect Her!  

Annelinde Metzner
July 31, 2011


On Sunday, December 7th, I will be reading this poem and others in honor of its release as part of the We'Moon Datebook 2015.  It's the first poem in the book, near the Winter Solstice of 2014.  I am honored!  An excerpt also appears on the beautiful December page of the wall calendar, with Earth art by Autumn Skye Morrison. 
     Susa Silvermarie will also be performing her poetry including "The Girl God" which appears in the datebook,  and two of my songs will be performed by the wonderful Kim Hughes.