My commitment is to the wounded places

They persist in sustaining our mammalian life.

My commitment is to the wounded places
The forgotten
The weakened
The neglected
And the silenced
~
My heart follows the mourning of contaminated bodies
The asphyxiation
Of debris
And the wasteland
~
My affection listens to the cries
Sterile
Intoxicated
Poisoned
Barren
~
I dedicate myself to being with the places
Those that are not inspiring
Beautiful or breathtaking
But the ones that scream and nobody listens
The gutted
Ruined
Reduced
Annihilated
~
Despite the rawness of their pain due to the constant violence,
extractive, exploitative, without reciprocity and destructive
The suffocated places continue to anchor us
They persist in sustaining our mammalian life
~
I offer them my humble attention
I touch their sovereignty and dignity
We dream and imagine together
I welcome their memories
I harbour their power
~
I look into the eyes of something I'm not sure I want to know
Without categorising or containing
I realise its instability and permeability
~
I hold the paradox and responsibility of both the ‘nature-destroying me’ and the ‘nature-loving me’
I am both
We are both
~
The territory has never been stable
Body-places have always been porous
We look each other in the eyes and heart without looking away
Contaminated or not, wounded places hold and nurture us.