The challenge back in 2015 was set by Visual Verse and was to use one picture, and to write less than 500 words in less than an hour.

On Mothering Sunday here in the UK here's what I wrote then about mother earth using a collage I'd recently developed as its inspiration.

The Earth cried the day the mist set in. 

The grey fine mist had ever so slowly and incrementally, seeped unseen and unacknowledged into every nook and cranny of existence. 

The beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the pale blue skies, the turquoise seas and green lush forests slowly being replaced by grey.

• Sunrises seen through view finders and unappreciated in the busyness to take a picture to share on facebook
• Sunsets ignored behind closed curtains in the desire to watch the latest box set on TV
• Blue skies taken for granted despite humanity spending more time flying through its very heart
• Turquoise seas filled with the new 'stuff' now required for existence 
• Green lush forests bulldozered to sustain the ever faster and increasing pace of life

Earth herself relegated to being a means to an end and not the end itself. However much she wished for us to notice and engage in her beauty. However much humanities soul cried out for such connection,
and however much individuals' bodies reacted to that separation. 

The earth cried as all she could do was watch the decent of all those she loved.
Unable to take any proaction to stop that decent.
Unwilling to turn away, and yet heartbroken with what she saw.
Optimistic with every new sunrise that this would be the day the mist would start to recede,
and crest fallen with every sunset that the opportunity had been missed.

The earth still cries - can you hear her? 

I've written and use other poems in my work with teams - most notable at the moment are:

• What is normal - work has changed and what was normal has changed and won't be the same for everyone
• Paths and Destinations - the paths that help and hinder your team from achieving their success

You'll find out more about ideas I have to use these poems in organisations here.

Do get in touch if you'd like to discuss me running a webinar for your team as lockdown restrictions start to lift alison@alisonsmith.co.

If you sign up for my newsletter you'll also be kept up to date with new developments for 2021 around use of my poem for keynotes, webinars and coaching - which I am very excited about.