I am unapologetically zealous
This endeavor consumes my soul

A savage sound rips from a throat
She speaks with your voice

Wisps of smoke rise from the resin
Burning away in a secret lesson

Texas is my soil
Hear her heartbeat!
Don’t pity me, for she is my birthplace
I say I’m from Fort Worth and you cast a baleful gaze
I claim Texas as my heritage and you say “I’m sorry”
She is the mother which birthed me, whose loamy breast fed me
You do not know her and all those would deny her darkness do not know her
She rumbles deep in thorny mesquite that pierces flesh
In coyotes that haunt your sleep
From the comfort of suburban sensibility you judge her
But she takes no notice
The curanderos are healing in her navel
Juno is prettying her hair
The echo of her thunderstorms pummels my sleep
I smell her
The fury of her wind throttles my sleep
I still fear her

Rushing to greet you
Falling as I see through

Roots sink down from my spine into the earth
The land is screaming

You cut the cord
Because you were bored