It is empty
It is quiet
It does not speak
It does not move
But gaze upon it
It is full
It is loud
It sings symphonies
It pulls you places
Put it down
Naught but paper

I could change the world
I could shake foundations
I could break and trample
I could set fires

But what would I become?

The earth below breathes
Rumbles
Sputters
Trembles

The earth below speaks
Through the air
Through the grasses
Through the trees

The earth below is heard
By the animals
By the winds
By the oceans

But not by us

A guiding light
Flickering far away
And just beyond reach
Ever and always in motion
Ever and always the same
Small and indistinguishable
Yet a gemstone all its own

A promise that tomorrow
It will remain there
Waiting to be seen

Let me be judged
Not by man
Nor by gods
Let me be judged
By the earth beneath my feet
By the trees that shade my paths
By the wind whispering in my ears
Let me be judged

Shadows lengthen
Across all the land
As the sun’s redeeming light
Retreats

Whispers grow louder
Upon the winds
As the warmth of summer
Diminishes

Yet the trees speak of winter
And the colors of change
That when the sun returns
They might be ready

Music whispers
At my ears
At my eyes
At my fingertips

Waiting to be heard
To be played
To be sung

Waiting to change me
To change the air
To change the world

If only I would notice
Would hear
Would listen

Always I wonder whether
New songs
New melodies
New symphonies
Can crowd out those in my head

And always I find
Old songs
Old melodies
Old symphonies
Not so easily forgotten

Noisome is the world
When the other residents
Tread heavily
Speak thoughtlessly
Act greedily
As if they are all
And the world, nothing

And peaceful is the world
Where the other residents
Tread carefully
Speak thoughtfully
Act selflessly
As if they are nothing
And the world, all