Dirt, Soil and Earth
You walk upon it every day,
The sand the silt the sticky clay,
But how many have stood to contemplate
The serious demise and ultimate fate?
The cost is free it has no worth!
We call it soil and sometimes earth,
A substance that is so inert,
Soon turns to mud and treated like dirt!
Soil unfortunately is right in strife,
Believe it or not, it should be full of life!
Taking a sample, you’re filled with hope,
Soon turns to gloom down the microscope.
You convince yourself it’ll all be fine,
Comforted by that shifting baseline;
Billions of microbes in a teaspoon of soil?
Now replaced with sulphides and oil!
A chocolate river flooding much more,
The soil of course is no longer a store!
Blame the EA! get out there and dredge!
And whilst you’re at it, may as well grub out a hedge!
Thankfully though mother nature’s forgiving,
Given the chance, she prefers everything living!
The battle against nature can never be won,
And working with her is uplifting and fun!
What’s best for nature is also my farm!
When the focus is on life, not causing much harm,
Regenerate your mind, your soul and your soil,
And tear down the barriers of destruction and toil.
Replace death with life and start reaping the pleasure!
Of a farm full of life much laughter and leisure,
A farm that is functioning with our mother earth,
Shifts from sadness at funerals to the pleasure of birth.
“Store carbon” you hear, “I’ll wait till I’m paid”
As yet more organic matter quickly degrades!
Should you be paid extra to the benefit it brings?
Supplying your crops with lots of free things.
Perhaps it’s time to leave that treadmill?
Of more inputs, yet yields standing still!
To look at soil health as the ultimate quest,
Happy contentment instead of constantly stressed.
Ben Taylor-Davies
