Nature, Our Mother

When people speak of nature

It is often in glowing terms –

The beauty of a flowering alpine meadow,

The sweet gentle rustle of autumn leaves in a light breeze,

Or the mesmerizing music of a babbling brook,

Leading us to call nature “mother,”

Like the one who baked you cookies

And nursed your skinned knee.

Yes, nature is our Mother,

But that is not all that mothers do

Is of the sweet and gentle kind,

Such as washing a potty mouth out with a bar of soap

Or giving a belligerent bottom

A good, solid smack.

In addition to kindness,

Mother Nature likewise has an angry side

Like a tornado that levels a Midwest town,

Or a hurricane that pummels the coast

Or an earthquake that buckles roads

Or a flood that inundates everything in its path with water.

Yes, Mother Nature is indeed like a mother –

Revel in her splendors

But beware and be scared

When her temper flares.