Mother Earth, Father Sky

by Angie Capzello One day, the earth looked up at the heavens and asked, “Who does the sky love best? “ The grass answered “I am the sky’s beloved. I look up, and I see him covered in brilliant blue. He moves over me like water, whispers through my leaves. And I sing love songs to him as my leaves brush together. Each year I go to sleep, yet he is always there when I wake, waiting for me, his one true love. The stream burbled as it laughed at the grass. “You are wrong, for I am the one the sky loves best. You say he moves like water, but he is hot and bright. He shines like the gold that lies hidden in my depths, and I reflect back all his warmth in glittering rainbows. No matter where I go, anywhere in the world, he is there waiting, all for the love of me. The tree shook her leafy head at the folly of her neighbors. “I am the one the sky holds dear. Soft and grey, he sends down the rain. I breath him in through my leaves, I drink him through my roots. Each spring I meet him in a gown of verdant green, and each autumn I wear scarlet, and together we dance through the seasons. In the winter he covers me in robes of purest white, for I am the one he loves best. Then the earth heaved and groaned, in a terrible torment. “I knew he would leave me, for I am old and worn. The years have passed since we first met, in a fire of passion. Now I have cooled, and he has forgotten our love.” The earth’s weeping shook the trees, the stream spilled from its banks and buried the grass in mud. Then night fell, and the sky came down and wrapped the earth in a cloak of sable and stars. “Hush, my love, be still. Do you not know that I love you? All that you see here is my gift to you. The love songs that whisper through the grass are my songs, the water shines for you like jewels. I garb you in colors each season, with all the life of the world. Even though you do not see me, I reach down to you, I am all around you every hour of every day. I am yours, beloved, from now until the world ends. It has always been you that I love best.” The tree covered them in a blanket of leaves, the grass made a soft place for them to rest, and the water serenaded them throughout the night. The earth sighed and settled down, wrapped in the arms of the sky, and there they lay together to watch the sun rise.