“Gaia’s Prayer”

I wear a long dress

Of blue, green, and white

To conceal my red stained skin

My beauty is sealed

Rotting away behind a sticky coat of protection?!?

A killing flower has taken root

Deep within me

Fertilized by that which was to make me

Immortal.

Cigarettes scorch me.

They crush into my arms, hair,

The insides of my thighs.

I hold my children close

But they starve.

My food has become poison.

My beloved children bite me in their hunger.

They plunge their needles deeper,

Longing for thicker blood.

God forgive your children

For what twas done to me,

Your first daughter.

I beg you, God,

Love them still.