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Once upon a time, before The Tyranny of Kings,
Great Mother Earth protected all her living things.
The creatures of the waters and the creatures of the lands
Lived in peace together, sheltered in her hands.
Then God created man, to nurse and teach and raise,
So Mother Earth got busy, and worked harder all her days.
For man was disrespectful of his loving Mother Earth
And often disregarded her, which caused her pain and hurt.
But Mother, like all mothers, was gentle, kind, and true.
She watched out for her children when they knew not what to do.
She taught them peace and wisdom, with love and hope for all,
She gave them freedom but made sure to catch them should they fall.
While Mother Earth was sleeping on one still and quiet night,
Two water spouts rose from the sea, and they began to fight.
One spout was called Jealousy, the other one called Rage.
They spun and fought and twisted like two tigers in a cage.
The twins caused such a ruckus that the Ocean looked away.
The Sun woke up and tried to rise but had to wait till day.
The Moon looked down and pulled the twins apart for just a bit,
Which caused the Ocean’s waves to roll and rumble, crash and hit
A tiny fishing boat, in which a sailor and his wife
Were struggling with a baby who had just been given life.
The Ocean saw the child too late and tried to calm the storm,
But the sailor and his wife were lost just after she was born.
The waves grew flat, the baby cried; the Moon shone bright and sad.
The baby’s parents were not found, the mother or the dad.
The spouts retreated shamefaced to the bottom of the sea.
The Sun arose and searched some more, but it was not to be.
Mother Earth awoke, and sensing something wrong,
Called the Ocean, Sun, and Moon together with her song:
The Earth provides, the Earth provides, according to your needs;
The Earth provides, the Earth provides, according to your deeds.
“Something happened while I slept”, Great Mother Earth did say.
“Please tell me what it is so I can help in any way.”
The Sun said, “I was sleeping, too; it isn‘t me to blame.”
The Moon said “I found out too late, and so too late I came.”
The Ocean looked with sadness at Great Mother Earth, and said:
“I must confess, I am to blame; because of me they’re dead.
I let Jealousy and Rage get out of my control,
And now I fear this helpless child will never be made whole.”
Mother Earth looked sad and stern and slowly bowed her head.
When finally she raised her eyes, “Bring her” was all she said.
The Moon tugged on the Ocean’s waves, and gently sent ashore
The baby in the boat whose cries were lonely, nothing more.
“I am alone”, the baby said. And Mother gently smiled.
“For as long as I’m around, you’ll never want, my child.”
Then Mother took this baby up and rocked her till she slept.
And finally when her eyes were closed, that’s when her Mother wept.
Great Mother Earth then called the Ocean, and the Moon and Sun.
She said “I’m disappointed in the care this little one
Received from you and you and you, and something must be done.”
And then she looked to each of them, the Ocean, Moon, and Sun.
The Sun said “Mother Earth, I will forever give her light.”
The Moon said “Mother, I will surely watch her every night.”
The Ocean just looked sad, and never even raised his eyes.
And Mother knew the reason; because he felt despised.
“She will not fear you, Ocean, though her parents went to sea.
You will be her protector and take care of her for me.
You’ll raise her as your own and she will surely love you, too.
For when you raise a child it means they then take care of you.”
And so it was, this child was born, of earth and then the sea,
Who lives beneath the waves and on the land in harmony.
This water girl with powers that the world has never known;
WaterGirl, who calls the Ocean floor her only home.
And just as Mother Earth proclaimed, she now protects the sea.
The sea which took her parents’ lives for all eternity.
The sea which gives the life she knows, and one that never ends.
The Water and the Girl are one; the Ocean she defends.
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| The Light, a Jealous Lover |
The light, a jealous lover,
parts the curtains and slips in
to dance across the shadows
cast in patterns on your skin.
It steels across the darkness
to uncover my caress.
The light, a jealous lover,
wants you always and no less.
The light cares not to share you
with my loving eyes and touch.
It enters without warning
just to find you in my clutch.
It stares in silent fury
as my fingers dance your skin,
and watches in resentment
when my hands begin again
to find their way around you
and explore your every curve.
The light, a jealous lover,
looks on, silent and disturbed.
The light has loved you softly
and caressed you all these years,
through good and bad and in between,
with laughter and with tears.
But now the light is angry
that I’ve come into your life
to draw the blinds and cut the lights
and love you through the night.
The moves we make to bring ourselves
together to the day
will shine throughout the darkness
but won’t scare the light away.
So the light remains your lover,
ever silent, always there.
It warms you with its passion
though it’s me for whom you care.
The light, a jealous lover,
loves you always, even still,
and watches, ever silent,
and it always, always will.
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Wakin' up hungry
'bout every day
wish I could sleep more
but sun's on its way
The others around me
they lookin' for food
I wanna roll over
just not in the mood
Got pains in my feet
from walkin' so much
got a spot on my ankle
I can't even touch
Ain't seen my family
don't know where they been
I ain't felt at home
since I don't know when
The days run together
like water and blood
and run down the street
and mix with the mud
The nights ain't for sleepin
when there ain't no bed
if you sleep through the night
it's cause you are dead
I hear on the street
there's people like me
that's been through a storm
that come from the sea
I say good for them
see how it feels
lookin' for toilets
and lookin' for meals
But soon as I think it
I wish it away
no one deserves
to be treated that way
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hello, you mothers
wherever you are
the card's in the mail
and the key's in the car
the house that we promised
when we were just ten
is still on the burner
from back before when
we struggled to trade you
the pain of those years
when we took the job
to summon your tears
but didn't we say
we'd watch over you
and didn't we say
you brought up no fool
and now don't you know
we told you no lies
and now don't you know
to look in our eyes
and see what we feel
about our best girl
and know that you're still
our mother of pearl
February 14. The other mother's day
.
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I walk with you ecstatic
Every step in pain
My happiness is boundless
I walk on knives
through heaven itself
and pass through hell
with love in my heart
terrible sweet agony
I destroy myself
I am transformed
I draw each breath
with such sweetness
one drop too much
would end my life
and yet I gorge
I cannot stop
to save my soul
This is being alive
so alive
This is being in love
so in love
This is killing me
But
I am alive
I am in love
I am fifteen
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The line at the drugstore
The line for the bus
I'm thinkin' that once more
That line between us
Is itchin' for crossin'
Late one night real soon
When the drinks that I'm tossin'
Come howl at the moon
The line for the movie
The line for the phone
Like bein' in juvie
Surrounded alone
The line of the bar
The line for the chow
I'm thinkin' you're far
Too smart to allow
My calls to come through
But I know where you live
And my payment is due
And you're gonna give
Cause I'm over the line
Tween crazy and sane
I'm out and you're fine
Ain't no one to blame
Night's for the ill
And things that go bump
Best you be still
Cause I'm gonna jump
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The kiss arrived with crisp December air.
Over mountains, across bridges, through time.
Its journey was long, arduous, and dangerous.
But never dull.
It was a patient kiss,
meandering towards lovers yet to be.
A kiss of pride, longing, defiance, tenderness.
A kiss of tears, lust, desire, of loneliness unvanquished.
Across days and months and years.
A score of years.
The kiss never doubts.
The kiss never fears.
The days form a poem in layers, and the kiss wanders
like a bedouin in the desert.
The kiss makes time.
The kiss makes love.
The kiss makes life.
The kiss makes you
and me
an us.
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The caress floated towards a treetop, where a mother sparrow was feeding her nest.
The chicks gave pause, then turned back to their mother
who looked down at a bitch giving suck to her pups in the afternoon sun.
The caress floated upward into a low cloud and hung ten on the wind.
The regular, plain, and simple voice of God called over, “ Angel child, don’t go too far, now.
She’ll need you when she wakes.”
“Don’t worry“, said the caress.
“You know I won’t,” said the regular, plain, and simple voice of God.
The caress traveled to land’s end, and dropped down to the ocean’s surface to float on the
salt water and bask in the sun for a while.
A curious fish popped up to say hello and goodbye, as the caress shook itself off and rose
high over the water.
The wind carried the caress back over the land, high above forests, and valleys, and
mountains.
The tops of the trees waved greetings and the caress dipped to gently touch their leaves.
The caress flew into the window, raced slowly across my skin, and lulled me into gentle sleep,
then leapt off the bed/isle, and whispered across the room.
And left whence it came.
The sun shone on the caress as it skipped sweetly across the grass.
The caress happened upon a cat dreaming in black and white, and tickled its whiskers.
The cat slept on.
The caress slinked across the hot sidewalk and kissed the grass, blade by blade.
A mailbox stood yawning at the road side.
The caress shook off the sidewalk dust and blew lazily against the post
upon which the mailbox sat.
The regular, plain, and simple voice of God called over,” Sweetness, whatcha doin’ out here
when your mistress needs you home?”
“Everyone’s asleep”, the caress replied, “I’m steppin’ slow.”
“Be gentle”, God said, knowing, of course, that she would, since God knows these things.
The caress floated ever higher, riding across the sky with bells on.
The regular, plain, and simple voice of God said, “Headin’ back, Sugar Plum?”
“You know it.”
“Indeed I do,” said God, who laughed and laughed.
The caress slowly, tenderly climbed into bed and lay across my back.
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