Monday, November 05, 2007

Prairie

They have bound my bones with grass,
wound iron wires round my joints. They have
rent my flesh with iron. They have sown
alien seeds in my soil.

I was an ocean. I cradled wildfires on my breast.

They have strip-mined my flesh. They
have buried me under the weight of wood.
They have ruled my contours straight
with dirt roads and paved roads and gravel.

I was the sea. I was the road for millions of birds.

They have drained me of water. They have
sucked me dry. They have shriveled my flesh.

I give birth to sagebrush and cheatgrass. I
die. I
live. I change.

I give birth to the dust and the wind.


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3 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

heartbreaking vision of environmental destruction.

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Beautiful! I love the last three lines especially.

Anonymous said...

"I give birth to the dust and the wind."

Love that. For me, it echoes the Kansas song, but the Kansas song echoes the words of the High Holy Days. All of it evokes loss and melancholy. Really excellent.