One man, a lone thought and a universe to stride
As it laid dying, he picked up a handful
Sifting it said-“We can mend and make it healthful”.
Not many believed. Not many understood
That a barrenness loomed ahead as it no more withstood
The ways of wasteful, the greed and gluttony
Surfeit and intemperance that bred an ill company
The momentous journey began, not at this moment
But as the countryside parched pouring forth the torment
The tiller in the countryside, now a migrant forced
Witnessed the bereavement as the catastrophe coursed
Impoverishing the mother once bountiful and benevolent
Deforested, overused, denuded, vulnerable to the malevolent
A movement was planned, a humble seed sown
Nurtured bit by bit ready to be blown
Hordes joined in, a momentum began to gather
A spirit of camaraderie for a land better
The thought fanned out far as if on wings
Touching lives of all commoner and kings
Not satisfied by words, lest they just be lofty aims
He rolled out the wheels to realise the proclaims
Of, a conscious planet, truly respectful of the toil
And so was born the movement- Save Soil
Not a region , not a country, not a continent would suffice
The plan was to span all, even the ring of fire and cap of ice
Hundred days, thirty thousand kilometers, twenty six nations
A stand for soil health and of beating the desertification
His bike revved up from the cool climes
London was first and the enthusiasm at its prime.
Awareness is ever the first step, involvement the other
The commitment drew in even those who don’t bother
The media went abuzz with the Save Soil anthem
Committed followers, active volunteers all worked in tandem
The curious la la le le le le reverberated on air waves
Eager crowds cheered his arrival on the highways
City after city, one meandering terrain after another
He rode bearing the onslaught of changing weather
Sharing forth the wisdom about the need of the hour
Eight billion mouths to feed and a soil impoverished our
Hungry bellies, diminished nutrition, is a slow bomb ticking
Climate change is happening and the humanity freaking
Yet, mother nature is kind, the harm reversible
If we mend our ways and make a difference discernible
Soil and life have existentially evolved together
Future doomed if soil gasps exhausted of organic matter
Rich soils of Earth have fostered rich civilisations
Soil depletion, a crisis, a harbinger of looming extinction
It’s time that the individuals and the governments took note
Of how materialism, overconsumption, destruction connote
Whirlwinds of change began to move in
The epiphany- World peace hinges on soil-set in
The governments were coaxed to act, enact and adopt
The ways of enriching soil, enabling its nurture sailed aloft
Soil is a legacy. Soil is the source. Soil is life’s construction.
Revitalise it. Renew it. Rejuvenate it and wait for it’s Resurrection.
His mission was a success, his impact immense
Populace linked in, rulers framing policies intense
For one, the talk of food was not ‘farm to table’
It was about the sequence of life and the soil’s fable
Second, the homes, the schools, the think-tanks geared up
To reduce the burden on soil for all to cheer up
From soil to sand ,and then, from sand to soil
An epic journey it would be, but truly worth the toil
If each one of us takes a lead, thinking prudent and wise
Blessed will be earth, clean the ocean and clear the skies.
A true homage to these climate action heroes would be one
If each one of us takes a lead
That alone would be true homage to these altruistic beings
Climate action heroes, some known, some