The Poisoned Earth

By lila
We poison ourselves So we
do not have to feel How we have poisoned the earth We create a worldview
Where nature is bad, out of control, needing to be tamed So that we can
justify destroying every square inch Leaving nothing untouched

The vibrant green of the rolling
hills Where I like to walk so much Rock outcroppings colored with lichen
and paint Humans' need to deface everything Is evidenced here "LSD &
Shrooms/ Fuck Paintballers" and "Party Hard Until You Can't" are sprayed
in white on the gray weathered stone Impossible to erase Bits of broken
beer bottles, old tires, tattered clothing Litter the wood We have left
our mark And will continue to destroy the native vegetation, animals, and
people To be replaced by our docile domesticated variety We must taste
victory To want to continue plundering The last few places of wildness

This small cluster of rocky
outcroppings and green hills Are now dotted with monitoring wells less
than a month old Someone wants to build here It is clear They will test
the groundwater To cover their ass in the case of lawsuit And build their
golf course in the sky On top of the sacred lands, hidden springs, pictographs
Artwork of someone closer to the land


I understand the red man's
pain at seeing the land devoured by the white sickness, Milky puss oozing
like a festering sore out of urban cities into the wild earth to tame and
fetter it, His distrust of this being who makes agreements Always with
one hand behind its back Fingers crossed

I need this wild place to
remember my roots To remind me of my true nature To remind me of life and
my many-legged relations and ancestors, the trees, shrubs, herbs, and grasses
To bathe my eyes in vibrant green, Tara's warmest hues To bathe my soul
in the love of my kin


When this is gone, I also
will be gone