The urgency of this moment hits me
Keeping me on the edge of my seat – literally
As I type in words to possibly explain
The living typhoon that is my inner life
If things were ever a simple rainbow
They certainly aren’t linear anymore
My identity is threatened constantly
By the racism and terror attacks elsewhere
My identity is threatened by climate trauma
As I gasp a breath full of cement dust
The cold eyes of a white man
Point the gun at me in my dreams
Grieving my miscarriage is political
Permission for women everywhere
With every hundredth monkey
Sweating under a burkha, and numb
To memories of my circumcision
Caressing the earth in a Warli village
Wondering how long it’ll last
Looking into the wise eyes of a cat
To see the innate wisdom of nature
The islands of plastic in the Pacific Ocean
Floating over broken hearts
Human stamina for connection
Lower than ever before
Hiding behind zoom screens
Audio and video turned off
Not being seen does not excuse unseeing
The destruction of our lives and loves
Times may be scarier than ever before
And that just means that I need
To raise my voice loud and clear
My identity is entangled in the lives
Of fellow mycelium and rivers and humans
When I stay silent, the bank is eroded
A little more each time
Maybe my voice reaches my cat
Maybe my partner, my neighbour, my mayor
Each iteration of identity counts
It makes me braver to see you being brave
It makes them braver to see me brave
It is a circle we are all joined together in
To say that life matters, earth matters
We are not robots and I will not relent
To the automation and numbing of my senses
If a “no” alienates then so be it
My cause is greater than I
We are nature and we are nurture
We’re the future of precarious Gaia
How then can I not sit at the edge of my seat?
And scream my voice hoarse
Ever growing my stamina to say
We are alive today and we matter
My identity is yours is theirs
Take a step, make a change
It may not be easy but I promise you
You are not alone
We are the thriving mycelium of life
And we shall learn to thrive
After all you never know
You may be the hundredth monkey.