
Painted lady and bumble bee
damsel and dragon fly:
their lives praise you, holy God.
Wood mouse and pipistrelle bat,
urban fox and badger:
their lives praise you, holy God.
Buttercup and toadflax,
cat’s ear and pimpernel:
their lives praise you, holy God.
Girdled snail and leopard slug,
shield beetle and earwig:
their lives praise you, holy God.
Copper beech and sessile oak,
black poplar and mountain ash:
their lives praise you, holy God.
Yaffle and mistle thrush,
jackdaw and sparrow:
their lives praise you, holy God.
But we humans – blinkered and wasteful,
short-sighted and careless –
do our lives praise you, holy God?
Renew us, your people;
pardon our failings
and bless our strivings
that our lives may praise you.
Amen.