“I am the Earth

And the Earth is me.”

Tomorrow is the 22nd of April, and if you didn’t know, that means tomorrow is Earth Day. With the definition of sustainability changing every day and the world population of 7.4 billion increasing by the second, sometimes it’s important to remember the we have an impact on the world we live in.

Recently, I found a poem by Jane Yolen that reminded me of the how much the elements of our Earth are a bit like what make us up as humans. In her words, “Each bit of mud, And stick and stone Is blood and muscle, Skin and bone.” As the human race, we have a lot of universal characteristics to who we are— a need for love, for care, for proper nourishment, and a source to sustain us.

Our planet needs things too, and that sustainable source… It comes from us. We have two choices: we can either destroy what is left of the beautiful world around us or we can try to sustain it. After all, our lives sort of depend on it.

So in the spirit of Earth day and National Poetry Month, here is a friendly reminder of the breathtaking planet that sustains 7.4 billion people. Let’s take ourselves back down to Earth for a moment with Jane Yolen’s Earth Day.

Earth Day

I am the Earth

And the Earth is me.

Each blade of grass,

Each honey tree,

Each bit of mud,

And stick and stone

Is blood and muscle,

Skin and bone.

And just as I

Need every bit

Of me to make

My body fit,

So Earth needs

Grass and stone and tree

And things that grow here

Naturally.

That’s why we

Celebrate this day.

That’s why across

The world we say:

As long as life,

As dear, as free,

I am the Earth

And the Earth is me.