Somewhere Outside of Sao Paolo

and then those obnoxious little lines

above her nose wrinkled,

and she entreated me as earnestly

as any preacher,

 

OMG HOW can you eat meat?

Don't you know...

 

and through the tiresome tirade,

I listened, and I watched,

in slow motion...

 

   somewhere outside of Sao Paolo,

  tropical trees met yellow blades

       and space for 3 years' worth of soy

 was made, in those 5 minutes,

 

and in Utah, parched land was pierced

   by sharp hoofs, breaking the crust

        that keeps the rain at bay, as urine

refreshed nitrogen into clay baked free

         of nutrition for years of disuse,

 

and in Nigeria, a water buffalo's milk

    fed a child born with a defect

         that will not let her nurse;

 

while in Honduras, a chicken was weighed

     at market; her precious pounds

  taken, so that a child goes to school

        or a father repairs his truck

 

gastric bacteria convert cellulose

  to protein in a form so efficient

      the landscape can remain intact;

    human needs met in symbiosis,

   the ONLY system that can replenish

a tired landscape, roll back the ravages

    of encroaching vast desert.

 

and she sat upon her soapbox,

telling only a quarter of the story;

the easily digested part

another peddler of The Truth

selling simplistic answers

at the doors of those looking

to buy superiority.

 

and since I could not explain rhizomes

to her, nor nutrient banking and

seasonal ebb and flow, migration,

the beauty of complexity-

years spent watching the hawk

rip the head off sparrows

as a sublime part of my own nature-

 

I simply told her, perhaps you are right,

but I understand human ecology

a hell of a lot better

than you ever will.

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Larry Dyson]

"she sat upon her soapbox,

telling only a quarter of the story;

the easily digested part

another peddler of The Truth

selling simplistic answers

at the doors of those looking

to buy superiority."

so yes ....I find myself seekingto stay quiet in the day in day out
repetition
of those same words and feelings....
having been there and done that..
for 10 yrs or more...
and returningto my knowledge hard fought for... with My time...
but..
who listens to an old man's rambling about life's lessons...
ME....NOW!

[Marie Anzalone]

Mnay people listen to your ramblings, Larry... you have a lot to say that is very important. Thank you for all that you do and offer.

[h d e rushin]

I got as far as the port city of Recifi and even then, only to chase w****s and fight. I left (at 19) not
understanding the people, the food, the landscape, the human, symbiotic need of cooperative
relationships. And I think you meant human need and not geo-political needs.

You're stance is true to form my friend. I need to read this again to find out the hidden message....
dana

[Marie Anzalone]

dear dana: my absolute apologies on the lateness of this response. I have been under a huge amount of strain and in the throes of my deepest depression of the past 4 years.

There is no hidden message here; all is surface in this piece. Human need, ecosystem need... all are tied together. There is no "nature" any more. We live in the era of the Anthropocene- our influence touches the very earth processes themselves. There is no natural untouched corner. We've acidified the oceans and changed weather patterns. We learn some small piece of the puzzle and call it "TRUTH," ignoring the rest. At this point, we borrow 1/3 of a year's resources, every year, from our grandchildren. Forget about predatory lending practices. The interest payments are a lot higher than any of us, but especially those of us struggling, like you or I, can ever hope to afford to make payments on.

[Donald Meikle]

The supreme satisfaction of educated enlightenment is true knowledge of oneself and how to live with it.

[Marie Anzalone]

Very true, Donald, very true. Hope you have been well, and I apologize for the delay in response. I think you hit an important topic... self-knowledge is important, but can be hard. How we live with ourselves once we have it really becomes the question.