San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly

CALOKIE

Ode to Dirt
(Reflections on Dirt, the Movie)

Blessed be
millions of biodiverse
biodegradable
microorganisms
in a handful of dirt
and each shovel of soil
which holds more living things
than all the human beings ever born
in our wandering world
O my soul

Blessed be
the topsoil
the skin of the earth.
the face of our mother
an orgiastic organism under our feet
the Dirt from which we come
and the Dirt to which we return
O my soul

Blessed be
grounds of villages
wherever children dance in ring
stop
stoop
scoop
handfuls of dirt
fling to skies
and get showered by
laughing cloud of dust
O my soul

Blessed be
the Dirt which grows
corn in torrid tortillas
rice portion on porcelain plate
frijoles covered with melted Jack cheese
avocados y Jalapenos in guacamole
and limes squeezed in frosted margarita
O my soul

Drink to
the life I feel within the land
the mountain I am
the tree I am
the river I am
the soil which is my flesh
O my soul