A sheet of ice

A sheet of ice, miles high, no end in sight
Climbs through the cold air towards the sun
Until it stops climbing, starts melting.
Drops of water cascade back to the earth
A fine mist at first, later a torrent
Forming rivers, lakes and oceans
Water a divine form of energy
Imbued with sunshine
Gives life to a single tree
And then another, and then a forest
The forest becomes home to rabbits
Chipmunks and geese, and the myriad creatures
The flora and fauna, hunted and gathered by man
Give rise to advanced civilization, to humanity
Man repays the earth with poison gas
First bringing a great warmth
Then bringing endless cold
Leaving nothing living in its wake
A sheet of ice, miles high, no end in sight.