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Earth Undone

Mountains made of waves tore the flesh from Mother Earth — flayed and flooding. The mud grieves beneath her, clogged with stagnant saline. She used to breathe — rivers ran wild and free, forests stood tall and proud. For she was once lush — verdant skin stretched over a trembling core, veins of sapphire seas pulsing with breath. But we carved into her with teeth of steel, peeled back her emerald skin, pierced through her bones. We didn’t ask. We took. Her lungs lit like lanterns. Birds dropped from the blackened sky. The ocean soured, bloated with grief. Coral bleached like the bones of the forgotten — silent, skeletal, sunken. And still, we kept chlorine at her flesh. Now she festers — her winds thin, her skin splitting. Cities crust her like scabs. She does not scream. She simply waits. A casualty of your cruelty, she lies open, emptied — not for mercy, not for rage — but for the stillness that comes when there’s nothing left to save. And still, you look away, call the silence healing — but it’s too late to unknown what you’ve done.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2025




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Date: 5/6/2025 8:56:00 AM
Congratulations on placing in my contest. I thoroughly love the different take your took on my prompt. Seeing it through earth's eyes. "Her lungs lit like lanterns," is an absolutely gorgeously dark line. This poem is beyond darkly beautiful and has such depth. Thank you for writing.
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Billie Jama
Date: 5/6/2025 9:18:00 AM
Thank you kindly for placing my poem amongst the winners. Your prompt inspired me to write in an unexpected but pleasant direction.
Date: 4/30/2025 11:48:00 AM
You've done an excellent job of showing how beautiful Earth used to be, Billie. "For she was once lush — verdant skin stretched over a trembling core, veins of sapphire seas pulsing with breath." And then what we've done to her..."Cities crust her like scabs." Dramatically written, and unfortunately... reality.
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Billie Jama
Date: 4/30/2025 11:57:00 AM
Thank you so much. Yes… it really does feel inevitable now, doesn’t it? I wish it were just poetic exaggeration, but sadly, the damage is all too real. I’m glad the contrast came through—it’s both a tribute and a warning.
Date: 4/30/2025 6:27:00 AM
Nice take on the theme, different. Planet earth is increasingly suffering under human mismanagement and greed. The insatiable lust for resources. But I don't agree it's too late. A Savior stands at the threshold. His rescue is imminent
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Billie Jama
Date: 4/30/2025 11:52:00 AM
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate your perspective. It's always valuable to hear different interpretations and hopes around such a complex theme.

Book: Reflection on the Important Things