Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth Read Free Page A

graze
Among the
People
Who create
Who labor
Who live
In beauty
And walk
So lightly
On the earth—
There is nothing
Left.
    Not even our roots
Reminding us
To bloom.
    Now they have wedged
The whole
Of the earth
Between their
Cheeks.
    Their
Wide bellies
Crazily
Clad
In stolen
Goods
Are near
To bursting
With
The fine meal
Gone foul
That is us.

The Anonymous Caller
    The anonymous caller
Begins
His diatribe
You shitty

Bitch

Ends it
With
A threat:
I Know

Where

You

Live.
    I can tell
By his
Voice
That he is
Young
Unaware
That
As far
As Calamity
Is concerned
As far
As Death
Is concerned
All of us
Share
The same
Address;
All
Of us
Live
In the
Same
House.

I Was So Puzzled by the Attacks
    I was so
Puzzled
By
The attacks.
It was as if
They believed
We were
In a race
To succeed
Someone
Other
Than
Death
Was at
The
Finish
Line.

At First, It Is True, I Thought There Were Only Peaches & Wild Grapes
    To my delight
I have found myself
Born
Into a garden
Of many fruits.
    At first, it is true,
I thought
There were only
Peaches & wild grapes.
That watermelon
Lush, refreshing
Completed my range.
    But now, Child,
I can tell you
There is such
A creature
As the wavy green
Cherimoya
The black loudsmelling
& delicious
Durian
The fleshy orange mango
And the spiky, whitehearted
Soursop.
In my garden
Imagine!
At first I thought
I could live
On blue plums
That fresh yellow pears
Might become
My sole delight.
    I was naïve, Child.
    Infinite is
The garden
Of many fruits.
Tasting them
I myself
Spread out
To cover
The earth.
    Savoring each &
Every
One—date, fig, persimmon, passion fruit—
I am everywhere
At home.

May 23, 1999
    There is nothing
To say
I am content.
Zelie
On her blue bike
Has gone off
To feed
The dogs.

Reverend E. in Her Red Dress
    Rev. E.
In her red dress
White hair
Shining
Black skin
Glowing
Standing at the door
Of our History
Standing at the gateway
To
Whatever lies
Ahead.
    We see you
At last for who you truly are:
Daughter, Sister, Woman, Lover,
Mother, Friend
Your thoughts
Leaping
Silver
As fish
Brilliant as fire
Your laughter
Like your sorrow
A flashing
Stream
From which
We drink.
    We see you
& know you reflect
The Divine Mother
She who gives birth
To all
And destroys all
At the end.
    If we lived in
India
We would
Worship you
There, pilgrims
Stay gone
Wear rags
Eat handouts
Lock their hair
Pray beside
Rivers, holy stones
& shrines
Begging the Universe
For a single glimpse
Of you.
    Divine Mother representing
The Life Force
The Earth
And all that She
Brings forth
    Keep on praying
For us
Earth’s children
That you
So clearly
Love
    Help us to
Love one another
To shed our fears
Of unworthiness
Our habits
Of self-hatefulness
Our greed
To be accepted
As something
Other than
What we are.
    Divine Mother
Keep on praying
For us
All Earthlings
All children
Of this awesome
Place
Not one of us
Knowing
Why we’re here
Except to Be.
    Keep on praying for us.
    Your children
The children of Earth
Are starving
For the sight
Of something
Real
Dying for the sound
Of something
True.
    Pray for us
To know
That nothing
Stops a lie
Like being
Yourself.
    For Rev. Eloise Oliver, minister of the East Bay
Church of Religious Science, Oakland, California

All the People Who Work for Me & My Dog Too

All the People Who Work for Me & My Dog Too
    All the people who work for me
& my dog too
Think
I’m crazy
Rushing to
& fro
Doing this
& that
Never really
Still
Until
I absolutely
Sit.
    They think
These people
Who work for me
& my dog
Too
That I have
Lost
My mind.
    I’m always sending them
On errands
I could do
Myself.
    My dog sometimes
Fetching a ball
Looks at me
With such pity
In her brown eyes.
    My cat
Enduring the madness
No longer
Bailed out;
Went to live
With an aunt.
    I feel myself
Slowly
Coming awake
In the rush.
Seeing the gingko tree
When it waves
Responding to seduction
By tomato
Noticing
José’s mustache
& eyes
When I ask him
To fly
Down
The mountain
For an egg.

The Snail Is My Power Animal
    While I was visiting the