Earth

My father taught me to love the earth,
And all that is within it,
Every mineral, rock, stone, fossil:
Here and there, outside and in it.

Shale shallow and crumbling,
Granite gravel resting on roads,
Diamonds durable forever,
Limestone that erodes.

Ridges riding high above,
Veins twisting far below,
Deep purple of amethyst,
Fool’s gold with pyrite glow.

I’ve watched men feel the soil,
In Gladiator and Shawshank,
I’ve read Christ use the dirt,
To restore a woman’s rank.

But none have I yet seen,
Who hold the earth as dear,
As the man whose fav’rite hymn,
Is “This is my Father’s world”