Earth Abides

What eye or ear could see or hear so slow  
to comprehend retreating of ice fields,  
great creeping roars grinding mountains to plateaux  
creating new lands their receding reveals,  
and new flood plains and sweet-water lakes  
on its unhurried journey to the sea  
unheard with no eye to disturb or wake  
Mother earth works tireless and silently.  
 
Though her belly quakes with great guffaws  
splitting her sides with unabashed delight,  
shooting joyous sparks high up to the stars  
spreading largess through her days and her nights  
as she swirls her skirts across her oceans,  
scooping up liquid gold in her generous hands  
with huge gales of merriment her motions  
rain her bounty on her parched desert lands...
 
And her flora and fauna all unaware  
as her rivers rush chortling merrily,  
she shares her manna through her fair streaming air  
from occident to oriental sea,  
and rushes on in her slow majestic pace  
ten thousand thousand year a moment to this she  
rolling slowly in her own heavenly space  
my Earth abides in powerful serenity.