love your mother

love your mother
those who are cursed with the unique combination
of intelligence & violence
know without hesitation, the essential first step to a people's
dominiation
is instilling a sense of humiliation
and so it was in africa, that birthed us all at one time or another
invading conquerers knew just what to do
with those who devotedly worshipped the mother
people working at living in balance
found themselves suddenly living in sin
filled with shame, they slashed & burned the temples of their
familiar kin
a twist of a phrase, & we all became suckers,
they turned "motherlover" into "motherfucker."
now the world's full of motherrapers,
men who put the old wisdom on a top closet shelf
convinced over time that the sacrifice is worth it
for a story that says they created themselves
they rip up her skin with nails of metal,
find veins of gold & suck her dry
yank out her lush green hair by the roots,
burn her children at the stake, if they cry
if the earth is not our mother, then they feel no obligation
to stop her constant, profitable mutilation
so they cover her mouth, and invoke their own doom,
dumping load after load into her bleeding, ravaged womb
i'm an unwilling player in this everyday drama,
nonetheless, i knowingly hurt my mama
i drive a big van that guzzles gas, i make way too much goddamn trash
but it's time we made it our business to learn
how to be motherfuckers on our mother earth's terms
cuz grandmother spider, she's a survivor-
they beat her, and beat her, but she's hard to break
if you listen close, she'll tell you exactly
how to make her faultlines quake
the essential stupidity of raping our mother
is she's the one keeping us all alive
any abuse that we visit on her only adds to our own degridation
here's the big messy secret they're trying to hide-
we are beings of nature! there's no seperation! so any pleasure that
we give to her
is, in effect, really, like masturbation
if you walk, or ride a bike, it makes ishtar's knees weak
eating organic's like running a finger
over her shivering, snow-capped peaks
sarasvathi moans when her songs are richly sung
clean up a strangled river & kali just might slip you some tongue
demeter would dig it if you planted some trees-
curbing deforestation's just respecting her boundaries
cars that run on hemp oil make inanna hot,
and those that run on hydrogen really hit the spot
astarte loves the taste of the vegans who date her
(oh, remember all these names, you'll be screaming them later)
venus only opens her delicious fat thighs
to those who use organic cotton & soy-based dyes
it causes hecate's panties to dampen
when you use a sea sponge instead of toxic tampons
isis gets wet when we live sustainably,
and gaia's got a fetish for alternative energy
boycott fast food & kuan yen will kneel,
and give it to you slow, and good, and real
the queen of heaven is a goddess gone wild
when every child is a wanted child
cast off the chains of the dirty-sky masters
and her rain will come down HARDER! FASTER!
the high dams crumble & her juices gush through
every time you recycle… reduce… and reuse
play in her meadows, swim in her lakes,
sink your hand in the mud to find her most sacred place
talk to the animals, and listen to each other
that's how to be a good motherfucker,
that's how to truly love your mother

Copyright Arjuna Greist 2003