O Heart of earth, beneath the root, Whose breath is wind and storm and soot, Whose silence falls as winter snow, Whose green fire bids the wild things grow; Hear now the oath of one who stands To guard this world with heart and hands. Make strong my arm as ancient tree, That bends but breaks not in the lee; My shield as bark that turns the blade, My oath the stream that will not fade; My mercy moss on fallen wood, That cradles life where death once stood. Where forests bleed, let healing pour, Where waters choke, let rain restore; Where creatures cry beneath the knife, Let my heart beat to guard their life; Where darkness creeps to burn and bind, Let green light rise and strike it blind. If blood must spill, then feed the ground, If steel must sing, let right be found; If I must stand ‘twixt claw and fawn, ‘Twixt torch and grove till strength is gone, Root deep my soul, unyielding, sure, That all you made may still endure. I am the leaf, the lightning’s horn, The stag’s swift leap, the wheat, the thorn; All living things are kin to me, Their wounds my own eternally. By turning wheel and rising seed, By moon that pulls and sun that feeds, I swear the vow, I keep the trust: To shield the green and hold the just. So may it be while seasons run, So may I stand till setting sun. So may I be forever true— All wild earth’s warden through and through.
