The wind heard your story
the oak and cove heard your cries
the white fox and brown hawk heard your song
the raccoons and deer heard your testimony
the mountains heard you
the red rock canyons hear you
the coyote and whales hear you
the rivers and moon hear your story
the loon and moose hear you
the creeks and lakes listen
the dogs and crows hear you
the seagulls and crabs listen
in villages, towns, cities
and countryside, the people hear you
the homeless under the bridges hear you
the old ones hear you
the yogis remind us of karma
the oracles see the future
the sun hears you and the wild fires
and hurricanes hear you
the seer predicts
we will know the end is near when the winds rise
and the children are mistreated *
we hear you on televisions and computers
and in protest songs during marches
we hear you in our dreams
Our daughters who stand up one by one
Our daughters who cry and speak the truth
Our daughters in refugee camps
and detention centers
Our daughters in prisons and cultures
that deny them rights
YES we hear you
the Earth hears you
her volcanoes roar
and earthquakes spit
out tsunamis
Truth is our inheritance and song
truth is witness and alive
It is late in the short history
of the planet
but we heard you
and Justice arrives
on her winged horse
* Chief Lyons from Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth.
Michelle Valladares teaches poetry and creative writing in the English Department at the City College of New York, CUNY, where she serves as the Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing. Visit her online at michelleyasminevalladares.com.
