I lie in the belly of my bed
like a flame dying in a pool of wax—
ponder if Mother Earth will be swallowed
by the ocean as she boils in a belly

of poison. Outside my window I hear
her crying raindrops, and I am crying too.
Her heavy clouds spew a flood of water,
fill the ground, rage rivers, melt soil,

and crumble rocks. Even as she suffers,
she is still more powerful than us.
She knows humanity will die before her.
Her thunder blasts a distant horn—tells me

I know how to strike a match—begs me to ignite
this sunken Earth mother’s flame and make her new.

– Kathi Crawford

Author’s Note: “Put a Match to It” ignites the opening of a collection I am working on, setting the tone with its focus on climate change and the resilience of Mother Earth. The poem confronts destruction while honoring Earth’s capacity to endure, reminding us that resilience is both natural and human. The collection includes poems and flash that speak to anyone navigating the arc of becoming—inviting readers to confront inequity, embrace impermanence, and reclaim the radical strength of self.