Friday, September 9, 2016

Standing Rock

A sage tie, with spiritual significance,
hangs at the camp
Andrew Cullen/Reuters photo


I stand
with the brave warriors of Standing Rock,
who are defending the land
and the waters.

It is time
to take a stand,
draw a line in the sand:
too much destruction,
as the wounds of Mother Earth
sorrow across the land.

The oil gods are ruthless.
They rip through sacred burial grounds
without a care,
imperil the clean, living waters 
that sustain  the people of the earth,
in endless quest for More and More
of the Money God that rules
the earth.

Soon water will cost more than oil,
for its scarcity.
The once-abundant freshwater 
lakes and rivers are dying,
one by one.

Yes, "Money Rules,"
but "The Spirit Liberates",
and so the warrior spirit rises,
in defense of Mother Earth
on the Sioux Reservation,
where last stands 
have been made before.

Ah ho, warrior brothers and sisters.
I stand with you
in protection of your ancestors' graves,
and the living waters,
more priceless
than oil.
I hear you as you
make your stand.

"Send your dogs and thugs and pepper spray.
To help the waters live,
we will stand fast.
In the footsteps of our ancestors,
in the tribal territory of a thousand generations,
it is always  a good day to die."



photo by Jean Roach, Lakota


offered for Isadora's prompt at Real Toads:   Fire From a Different Sun: to write about another kind of fire. In this case, the spirit within, the rising of a people, in response to the ruthless ways of the money-mongers on sacred land.


10 comments:

  1. After reading your poem I had to put on Robbie Robertson and "music for the Native American"... Yes it's time to draw a line and stop for the sake of it all.

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  2. We must stand with brave warriors at Standing Rock. Water is life, and I am afraid it is the new "oil" the world will fight to control.

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  3. We must, indeed. The idea of water being "more expensive" than money is obscene and terrifying. And the thought of spiritual and physical ripping of the land cannot be allowed to continue.

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  4. 'too much destruction,
    as the wounds of Mother Earth
    sorrow across the land' - fantastic imagery. We destroy so much, so thoughtlessly.


    .

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  5. A fine, ferally hot anthem for the tribe, burning with something purer than the fat equivocations of the oil industry. (Yes, it's safer in the short term to pipeline oil versus truck or railcar it, but by doing so it just lengthens the dependence...) Great job. Three war whoops and a shake of sharpened tail-feathers. Go git 'em.

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  6. These are the only wars that should be fought - a passive resistance to wholesale plundering.

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  7. Thank you so much for this well expressed tribute/reminder/hope

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