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arriving.
…………….
running on sand is like treading water. especially desert sand, where cacti teeth grip like piranhas. the wind, like waves, slams against your skin
like grade school rumors, stinging, penetrating, leaving you bewildered and pitiful. anxiety bites your fingernails, leaving you raw and sore, unable to feel anything other than the piercing memory of
what could have been. it is here that you decide to change everything. begin again. become a stronger, healthier person. you start by taking off your clothes. after the bitterness wears thin, your skin
begins its metamorphosis. you are numb. there is no hunger here, no fear. you let go and become the cold. you begin to move your feet, curling them into the chilled sand, clenching quartz kernels between
your toes – like spider legs, sensitive and strong. your knees loosen, calves tension, ankles rise. your back tilts as the balls of your feet press. your shoulders and arms fall, your fingers – whiskers.
your head erect, all senses awake – eyes of a hawk. you run. you breathe. you rebirthe.
emancipation
…………………….
free yourself, sister.
your strength will carry you
your trust will belay you
and guide you to your next step
to another window of truth,
of the mirror you turn from
cuffed
onto matter over mind.
free yourself Today, sister.
(the chains are within)
pass on the collar, girl,
stand up taller
and let the wind sing through you
let it sink into your shaking hamstrings,
your legs alive
and the silence inside.
the arms tearing,
stretching for a grip
on this thing called “freedom.”
…maybe to admit
falling
is floating
is growing.
oil and Water don’t mix
…………………………………..
the sun sets at 4:30 in Lost Hills
‘cuz Daddy works for the oil wells,
and it’s either that, or McDonald’s
in this tiny little town.
the sun sets at 4:30
in this bitter water valley,
where green lawns are mandatory,
where the oil rig mosquito
feeds like a vampire
from the blood of our Mother,
making nature live eternally in death.
…Daddy takes deep breaths
of the black smoke poison,
after all, he took the job ‘cuz he got workers’ compensation.
the sun sets at 4:30
down the 46, 99, 58 –
beside the train,
under the pesticide plane,
bringing bitter showers
to the fields of flowers
under the telescope towers of the state prison,
the only buildings in my vision.
the sun sets at 4:30
over deserted farmlands and dead horses,
over the gun club ranch and the golf courses.
the sun sets at 4:30
for the Wildlife Refuge down the road,
Daddy was told it’d be sold someday,
anyway….
the sun sets at 4:30
‘cuz the smog pours from the floor up,
and it settles thick –
like the ashes of my illness,
‘cuz Daddy don’t know
that oil and Water
don’t mix.
right now.
………………….
a strong wind is coming,
an earthquake
…a tidal wave
and, boy, will it radiate.
nuclear power was planned to expand by 2004?
…they’ve eased us into it,
made us believe we’re invincible,
set us on the upside scale of Darwin’s principle –
like that pimple that just won’t disappear….
they think we’re nothing but surviving
by fear.
now our cells are swollen with their “favors” –
artificial colors and flavors –
poisons consumed for generations,
convinced it was nourishment.
…petroleum tomatoes,
hormone meat,
bleached rice, cotton, tampons and wheat –
just pick your feet up and relax,
don’t worry,
you don’t need to know –
so, don’t ask
why we’re products of plans made by the man
waving the weapon of war in his hand
as though it were a shield.
…don’t need to know that ignorance
yields disease
(that’s the same with hate, by the way.)
…a strong wind is coming,
an earthquake,
a tidal wave,
and boy, will it mutate.
those willing to bend over will have to take it,
those with strength will try to break it,
those with patience will fry trying to wait it out,
and those with foresight,
had better escape
right
now.
Elise has been writing since her fingers could wrap around a pencil. She began with stories of princesses and swamps, and, there was always a
moral at the end. After studying philosophy, psychology, and feminist studies in universities in Washington and Oregon, Elise chose to live on the road for nearly four years, traveling throughout the
country from coast to coast, giving spoken word performances. Having camped through most of her travels, this journey greatly inspired her reverence of the natural world and influenced her
environmentally/politically toned writing to encourage life awareness in her readers and listeners. She strongly believes that honoring and interacting respectfully with the natural world is integral to
living harmoniously with our selves, each other, and our future.
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