Dear Mother Earth

My apologies in advance
For failing to ease the stranglehold
My kind has used to cripple you,
Benign sustainer of limb and breath.
It makes no sense to strangulate
The conduit that grants us life,
That pumps us full of nourishment
To brace the body, revive the soul.
I offer my condolences
And bid farewell before my end,
Since death is unpredictable,
And if I wait for exequies,
My wits may flee me at the close.
I'd also like to tender thanks
For sprinkling petals on my paths,
For cooling off my steamy brow
With sprightly breezes and the shade
Of overarching oaks and elms.
Thanks too for summer storms and sun,
And winter's rime, and icicles,
And violets that force their way
Through thatch to brighten up a lawn.
And if I should be coined anew
As future crow or rat or toad,
I hope you'll treat me graciously
Without abuse for human wrongs.