Saturday, July 26, 2014

This is life

July 21, 2014

My day begins 
With the kickstart of a motorbike
In a skirt to my ankles
I ride

The roads
Orange as New York October leaves 
Filled with holes
I ride 

The same route
Everyday
Takes us to school
The same fields line the way

Workers till the land
By hand
As I pass by

I watch the soil 
Husk covered to red to brown
As the days pass by

Workers plant seeds
Lines of food
For the next harvest

I watch
Each new day
With the dawn of the morning
Life bursts from dirt 
before my eyes

Green sprouts
Sprout forth
Towards the sun
Calling me to do the same

Standing taller
Each new day
Unaware of the wisdom they hold within
They follow their instinct 
Shouting all that is true 
To whomever will listen

Instinct
Brings the broken, dead, opened seed
To the light
Appealing to my own instinct 
Calling me to do the same

My breath leaves my lungs
In a gasp
As if I should be surprised
This day
Yesterday or tomorrow
That such beauty comes from the ground

I am never prepared 
For the wonder

The wind
Whispers to me
Turning my head to either side
"Look.  Listen. This is Life."

The same whisper
That I hear
In my 5th floor apartment
When my plants bloom
In the spring

When the mulberries 
Paint the concrete 
As I walk
To school

"Look.  Listen. This is life"

I do
Each new day
As though I never have before

This land
Deemed developing
By these people
By the world
Calls out to me
"Look.  Listen.  This is Life.
Tell me now that I am developing
Tell me?  Could you make sugar cane grow?"

These women
Feed their babies
In the night
Rolling over and lifting an arm

The same babies 
Tied to their backs
All the day long
As they do 
All that they do
Unaware of the wisdom they hold within

These people
Take care of one another
Through the years
The threads of their lives
Forming one cloth

The water is dirty
The roads are unpaved
There is injustice
Yes

But the maize 
reaches higher every morning
Singing its song
Of life

I look
I listen

Everywhere
This is life




No comments:

Post a Comment