The Hundredth Monkey

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.