Dust

From dust we came
swirls in the wind
fleeting faces emerging
from a transient medium

from dust we came
pieced together
as a clay pot
teetering on the edge of a stand.
fragile
falling

from dust we came
we are not simply caretakers of the earth
we ARE the earth
it is contained in us
when we harm the earth
we harm none other than our selves
our very being

to dust we return
when i die
do not tarry
in returning me to
my natural form
and take those ashes
pieces of the earth that I am
and let me drift home.