Ear to the ground

Ear to the ground  by Rashmi Shankar 

You ask what is beauty

What is love

What are the gifts 

We’ve been sent from above 

When nothing feels right 

Nothing seems to be helping  

And life feels like a fight 

with no prizes for winning

I say 

Put your ear to the ground 

And feel the earth 

Strong, coarse, powerful, 

Of things she says there’s no dearth

Put your ear to the ground 

Imagine her round, extending to distances we don’t understand

Spinning yet steady so life goes as per plan

Holding the world—people and buildings, hopes and dreams

—like they’re light as feather

All the while floating like a breeze

Put your ear to the ground 

Doesn’t she sound unreal

Yet she’s here, she’s real 

Your home. Our home 

If she can do this all, what is it you fear? 

Put your ear to the ground 

And you have all the answers

Her strength is beauty 

Her selflessness is love 

She nurtures, 

sustains, 

provides.

As years and centuries pass 

She remains our only home 

Put your ear to the ground 

Hold her, thank her. See her smiling?  

Feel yourself part of something bigger than us all 

Feel her alive and breathing 

She teaches us to endure: to show up, keep at it 

The universe is on our side 

The music’s all here and the answers are around

The world is rooting for us

Just put your ear to the ground.