“Pathwalker, there is no path. You must make the path as you walk.” Antonio Machado
And you stand with the others,
the twelve, on Market Street; you stand
with your homemade sign against fracking
and the sirens wail
as if marking the day, meaning the hour,
a bad breeze that repeats…
and the burning sage is passed…
the sweet smell of blessing
which you take and cross yourself
-- north, south, east and
west-- a nimbus cloud wafting and growing
into autumn/winter, and you listen to speeches
about global chaos, about
350 carbon dioxide parts per million,
about tumors found on fish,
about toxic coal
and the dangers of tar sands and oil spills,
--the native lands seized
--what was given seized
--what was precious seized
about rail expansions in Pittsburg
and Martinez, endangered Benicia,
and the world spins, Gaia spins
crying out about the interdependence of
everything…the bumped
bowels of the earth procured,
shattered,
and you listen, wishing
the corporate giants would
have a change of heart, wake up
from their feathered sleep….
O mother, daughter, wife
stained in prayer and
horror for the children and their
children’s sake.
Author Bio:
Leonore Wilson is on the St. Mary's MFA advisory panel. She has taught English and Creative Writing at various colleges and universities in Northern California. Her new book is Western Solstice by Hiraeth Press. She has won fellowships to Villa Montalvo and University of Utah for her writing.
And you stand with the others,
the twelve, on Market Street; you stand
with your homemade sign against fracking
and the sirens wail
as if marking the day, meaning the hour,
a bad breeze that repeats…
and the burning sage is passed…
the sweet smell of blessing
which you take and cross yourself
-- north, south, east and
west-- a nimbus cloud wafting and growing
into autumn/winter, and you listen to speeches
about global chaos, about
350 carbon dioxide parts per million,
about tumors found on fish,
about toxic coal
and the dangers of tar sands and oil spills,
--the native lands seized
--what was given seized
--what was precious seized
about rail expansions in Pittsburg
and Martinez, endangered Benicia,
and the world spins, Gaia spins
crying out about the interdependence of
everything…the bumped
bowels of the earth procured,
shattered,
and you listen, wishing
the corporate giants would
have a change of heart, wake up
from their feathered sleep….
O mother, daughter, wife
stained in prayer and
horror for the children and their
children’s sake.
Author Bio:
Leonore Wilson is on the St. Mary's MFA advisory panel. She has taught English and Creative Writing at various colleges and universities in Northern California. Her new book is Western Solstice by Hiraeth Press. She has won fellowships to Villa Montalvo and University of Utah for her writing.
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