Jun 2012
When the pit is done, and abandoned
the people will no longer think
clearly because their grief will have become
greater than any other sensibility.
They will gather rusted fragments
of metallic debris and haul them
to the edge of the pit.
Without ceremony, prayer or drum
the outdoor grills, cell phones and cars
tumble to the lowest ledges,
some resting in shallow water.
Then the people will wait, to see
if these bits will serve as seeds and grow
back the watershed, the mountain’s spine,
eagle, bear, healing plant and water.
It is very quiet here, by the pit
where they wait.
the people will no longer think
clearly because their grief will have become
greater than any other sensibility.
They will gather rusted fragments
of metallic debris and haul them
to the edge of the pit.
Without ceremony, prayer or drum
the outdoor grills, cell phones and cars
tumble to the lowest ledges,
some resting in shallow water.
Then the people will wait, to see
if these bits will serve as seeds and grow
back the watershed, the mountain’s spine,
eagle, bear, healing plant and water.
It is very quiet here, by the pit
where they wait.
About an hour south of where I live in Northern Wisconsin, a body of iron ore is "under attack" by corporate, out-of-state interests who wish to reduce the ancient mountain to powder (literally) and extract the ore magnetically. Taconite mining. The people who live here and ARE AWAKE, know that this will destroy their watershed. And, the polluted water would run through the Bad River Reservation, killing their valuable wild ricing beds.
It's time to USE LESS, find new ways to live on this precious and vulnerable earth. MIIGWECH.
It's time to USE LESS, find new ways to live on this precious and vulnerable earth. MIIGWECH.
