Land Acknowledgment
Published: The Post-Borderzone, Germán Pallares, 22-23,
Land Acknowledgment
Published: The Post-Borderzone, Germán Pallares, 22-23,
Land Acknowledgment
Dry Desert Borderlands
my introduction to you was a border crossing itself
divided by water
yesterday we flourished with you,
Mother Earth
Natural Borders
only today we’ve destroyed you
drought, deterrence, violence, & greed
we’ve punctured deep into your skin, a physical border
& we’ve ruptured your heart over the constructs in which he created
this is the vast terrain upon which I wonder
all I know is that I have sand in my shoes
& I carry a bit of you as I walk this line of privilege
while thousands negotiate with you and your barren landscape
a walk towards the edge of death
their shoes, bones & stories buried within you
lost & unknown
and all I know is that,
I am not me without my ancestors that walked 2,000 miles of hostile terrain
my introduction to you was a border crossing itself
divided by water
yesterday we flourished with you,
Mother Earth
Natural Borders
only today we’ve destroyed you
drought, deterrence, violence, & greed
we’ve punctured deep into your skin, a physical border
& we’ve ruptured your heart over the constructs in which he created
this is the vast terrain upon which I wonder
all I know is that I have sand in my shoes
& I carry a bit of you as I walk this line of privilege
while thousands negotiate with you and your barren landscape
a walk towards the edge of death
their shoes, bones & stories buried within you
lost & unknown
and all I know is that,
I am not me without my ancestors that walked 2,000 miles of hostile terrain
Scaffolding
fresh plaster
& traditional fresco from your hands
water-based pigments transform into brushstrokes
brushstrokes depict 2,000 miles of your desert terrain
a dialog of the vast terrain upon which I wonder
gender roles, authority, war, obedience, politics, & suffering
he crafts a mural that becomes history
herstory & your story is his.
womanhood, life, suffering, hope, autonomy, & courage,
she crafts a mural that becomes Herstory
fresh canvas & water-based pigments
I paint with you
I paint with her
A dialog of your vast terrain upon which I wonder