*****

Recorded Reading (3:27):

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ec4w8wrhvea2rh75r4gny/dirt.mp3?rlkey=g8vw9cqw6no2bicio83cvf6p7&st=vpq3u1wg&dl=0

*****

dirt

let’s just talk about that
for a moment, shall we?

dirt,
i mean

a little of mama earth
on our hands or our feet
a brush of ash on the cheek

that’s not dirt

that earth
is so clean
you can eat it,
as have gravid
women the world over
all through history
and prehistory,
for its minerals

amish kids
never have allergies
why?
they did a study:
field dirt
on their hands

and ash
is a damn
cleanser,
folks,
inner and outer

a little of it
on your body
on your feet
grounds you
did you know that?

oh, wait
that’s right…

you don’t care
about being grounded
do you?

don’t give
a second thought
to the well-being of trees

or birds
or ants
or bees
flowers
wildlife

don’t even read
the f’kn package
to discover
you’ve just condemned
your rodent brother
to a death
you wouldn’t mete out
to our most depraved
criminal

do you?

let me tell you something:

that’s

dirt

dirt’s what’s on our apples
when you get done spraying them

it’s what our factories
factories factories
factoriesfactoriesfactories
are spewing into our skies
and waters

it’s whatever poison that is
we must wash from our products
before first use
so they don’t make us sick

give it to the fishes
instead,
huh?

you don’t think about
them either

but you sure
do think about me
don’t you?

i actually
am grounded

because i live
grounded

light fires
get sooty
feel the wind
get fluff in my hair
sit
on my Mama’s lap
rise up

less than pristine?
no, my friend,
more

more
than pristine

enhanced

what’s on me’s
not even close to dirty

what’s in you is
filth

way beyond
your
paltry,
shallow
totally selfish
media-dictated
imagining

hahahaha…
look at her!

*****

This poet/editor is physically disabled, and lives at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level.

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