Poem Sixteen: Rainforest
Some found ideas or words from Indigenous Waorani leader Nemonte Nenquimo
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Stories are living beings.
Give it back.
Every orchid blooms
in its own time.
We, the river, we
the river. The river
we wash with the ash
from burning trees.
Mother Earth
will not be saved.
She does not need
to be saved.
Every orchid blooms
in its own time.
Jaguars criss cross
asphalt.
Give me back
the blood of the land.
Would you build
a home out
of the oldest kapok?
Would you drink
the blood
of the rosewood?
These are the bones of our elders.
The blood of the earth.
Give it back.
Stories are
living beings.
Screaming
whistle of the piha.
Guttoral chants of howler monkies,
A god wakes
in the trees.
Put your hands over your ears.
The highway accelerates
destruction. Stories are
living beings.
Mother Earth
does not need
you to save her.
It is the other way around.
When you reach for something
beyond yourself
That’s when you
have meaning.
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