Breathe

If we worshiped water and air

Things like Ohio wouldn’t happen

Or Valdez, Chernobyl, Deepwater Horizon

There would be no DAPL to protest

I would not have to monitor air quality

Or toxic gas plumes

If we worshiped life

I bet you could swim in and drink the water

Almost anywhere

There would be plenty of food to spare

Growing here and there

I’m sure flowers would be abundant

Safe environmentally friendly housing

Would blossom too

Made from hemp and bamboo

We would have better schools

If we worshiped soil and mycelium

Learned how to build and share

I’m sure there would be enough goodness

Everywhere

Things like DDT, glyphosate, and vinyl chloride

Would not exist to spill

Birds could fly instead of being killed

We would not need these things

If we worshiped skies and seas

I’m sure we would have houses

And plenty to eat

I don’t know why we need phosgene

Probably to worship oil and money

Or to paint a war machine

I think if we worshiped water and air

It could fix everything

Simply worship

The right to breathe

 

Lennée Reid, a qbipoc poet, author, multimedia artist and healer is based in Olympia. Find them at Awareni.wordpress.com.