The In the Words of Womyn workshop I lead at Tia Chucha’s was invited to prepare poetry pieces that were to be given to various city and state politicians at an upcoming community meeting panel discussion event.
After the poems were submitted it was decided, by members of the board of the organization which had extended us the invitation, to not use our poetry as some of it was seen as unsuitable to be presented to the politicians.
In order to honor the womyn who composed these pieces and to honor the vision of ITWOW to empower womyn to speak candidly, passionately, and without apology, I have published their poems here. You may find these six poems under the tag: “Poetry for Politicians.”
Tia Chucha’s will also be honoring these womyn by creating a space for our poetry to be heard; one such occasion will be at Open Mic this Friday March 12, 2010 from 8-10pm. You are all invited to come out and not only support these poets but to share your own work as well!
~Jessie Dawson Wilson
Where there’re no shoes for tiny feet,
My heart cries out;
Where there’s no bread for a child to eat,
My heart cries out;
Where there’s no roof over an old man’s head,
My heart cries out;
Where Mother Earth is the only bed,
My heart cries out;
Where there’re no garments to keep out the cold,
My heart cries out;
Where there’s no peace for a troubled soul,
My heart cries out;
My heart is the cry of 50 million people
In 50 million sad voices made one.
~Matriz
asked to voice our knots, display our tangles
present them in beauty, fit for the public
a contradiction, a delicate artful challenge
thus this attempt, holding close the interest of we
bombarded by so much sensation, news of abuse
shooters erupt, thirst blazing, wrinkled with fears
uterus empty of mothering, broken warrior gone wild
loss felling children, uniformed walls, all distant relatives
tired, bones witness the gathering day workers storm
weary, business suits fit to neglect needs
angry, skeletons fed on promises of better tomorrow
self-medicated, sick of bankruptcies, graduation job lies
so the marchers emerge, demanding rights
to knowledge, to health, to be spectators no more
expecting a world to transform, to allow worth in this lifetime
together pounding the pavement, lifting spirits to the sky
listen to the prayer of a nation humbled by mistakes
embrace and brace for changes, expect this once and for all
rely on the wealth of the creative, let it flow into every gap
reject addictions rooted in usurped authority, robbed power
Mother Earth waits for her children to grasp their lesson
that there are natural laws greater than the toys of man
that a well being is measured by dignity beyond its own
that the abundance we seek is already in our midst
so be wise, responsive: there’s only enough time to align
~Jenuine
In every community
there spans a chasm wide
between the haves, and the have nots:
those who have Hope. and those who have not
while some would argue that we are defined
by those who have money and those who have not
I tell you this:
I have been stripped of all I own
I have been deprived of what I hold dear
I have lost those I had cherished
and yet
I still possess a vast wealth
upon which no value can be laid
and for which no price can be paid
for
inside me thrives a resilient Hope
it has not be cut down
it cannot be fettered
it shall not be uprooted
so
if we each, who possess such a Hope,
would offer even a portion to those who have none
what a great and glorious transformation would occur—
consider what reconciliation might then resound
envision what futures might then flourish
imagine what dreams might then dawn
for
we must dream, because if we don’t, we will despair
we must remember, because if we don’t, we will not learn
we must write, because if we don’t, we will stay silent
we must listen, because if we don’t, we will forget
we must act, because if we don’t, we will become complacent
we must Hope, because if we don’t, we will whither
so
let us plant Hope lavishly throughout our communities
Hope in the seeds of Knowledge, Art, Culture, and Music
Hope in the seeds of Healing, Restoration, Empathy, and Compassion
Hope in the seeds of Justice, Peace, Vision, and Integrity
for
if we desire to harvest Hope, then it is Hope we must sow
~Rosalilia Mendoza
The sun always rises on the east
and sets on the west
Yet it is rare that we follow the truth
but it’s there…
In our surroundings
our community
our people…
Enough is enough
With the two-faced politics…
We don’t need a solution
What we need is a revolution
Teachers were meant to teach
Free and liberate young minds
Yet, they’re laid off time after time
So what of the youth’s future?
Our valley is beautiful and brown
So why continue to tear it down?
With factories in every corner of San Fernando Road
Nuclear plants that fog up the ranches of
Lake View terrace and Sunland’s dew
no wonder we feel blue
when our valley is dying
With the smog, and pollution
I’m not asking for a resolution
But enough is enough
with the two-faced politics…
When our community falls sick,
When you decide between their well-being or profit?
Yes there are clinics that take children,
But why not insurance for our young men and women
Without a job or healthcare?
Enough is enough
with the two-faced politics…
Supporting corporate businesses
Like Best Buy and Lowell’s by Paxton
“It will open more jobs” they say…
Instead of supporting local stores
Growers, vendors, Tamaleros, Taqueros…
What will be of them once these corporate giants open?
Now let’s talk about the unspoken…
Cutting funds from community efforts
And alternative spaces
Or the Cesar Chavez days
Is like cutting our youth’s veins
So enough with the complaints
And begin to wonder why
We see blood on our streets
And people dying in vain
Enough is enough with
Two-faced politics…
~Leslie
We pray.
No more raping of the earth.
Feel the wind as it sweeps
across the sand.
Hear the ocean’s roar
Taste it’s salt.
See the mountains
Silent and dignified
Stretching into the sky.
We pray.
No more raping of the children.
Let them bite into a fruit
Race barefoot into the summer’s night.
The miracle began
with their birth.
We pray.
No more raping of women.
Standing as they are
Greeting the day
Keepers of the fire.
Honor them.
We pray.
No more raping of men.
Standing as they are
Greeting the day
Keepers of the fire.
Honor them.
We pray.
No more raping of
the four legged,
the winged creatures,
the swimmers.
We pray
for our political leaders.
~Kelly Ochoa
Que estas fumando, marijuana?
Si comadre, pero estas dias
le dicen, “medical marijuana”
tu sabes “mota”
Mota?
As in Manny Mota con Los Dojers?
No, as in medical marijuana.
What’s so wrong with it?
Is it not acceptable
but neither was same-sex marriage
just up until a few years ago
Marijuana is not being hooked on drugs
Marijuana comes from Mother Earth
drugs are heroin, crack/cocaine, speed/crystal meth
to include prescription drugs and biggest of them all is
Alcohol
Isn’t it strange how everything I just mentioned
is all “man made”
I once heard a quote by Bob Marley
it goes as follows:
“Herb is the healing of a nation,
Alcohol is the destruction.”
How true is that statement?
There is something so wrong with that picture
Why is alcohol legal
and marijuana not?
I’ll tell you why—
because it’s all about
Politics and the mighty Dollar
So please Mr. Mayor,
Please pass this message onto Mr. Schwarzenegger
If marijuana were to be taxed
California could be out of debt in one year
Doesn’t take a rocket scientist
to figure that one out.