Stripped

Creature by creature even leaf by leaf the diverse world we knew is being stripped; stripped by wind, by fire, by acid beneath, dissolved in the seas. Polar ice has dripped, glaciers slipped, forests are ripped. Companion creatures now displaced, with no sheltered lair, are exposed by humankind's expansion; laid on an altar of growth. Do we care? Last Thursday as we stripped the Altar bare to mark the passion of our Saviour Lord, other creatures crucified formed my prayer. Can ripped and stripped creation be restored? If we who've trashed God's gifts and caused such pain showed our sorrow, would he trust us again?