In the desert of Oedipus
At the cross roads of
My brother’s deed
In silence I speak
In vindication for
My mother
Her voice flowing
In my heart
Moving in my veins is
The Spirit of
Her truth
And as I touch
The stillness
I feel
Her pain
Her life blood is
Strong
Her renewal
Vibrant but
She fights against
An enemy
Born out of
Her womb
Her son turns
Against her
Her Father understands but
Unconditional is
The love they share—
Father for
Daughter and
Mother for son so
How can she defend?
My brother,
He rapes her
Mocks her
Claims his
Right to her
She didn’t
Protect him
In his youth
And her lessons about
The responsibility
To life
To all
Left her
Misunderstood
She tried to
Teach us
How to listen
To feel
To embrace
The unknown
In wonder
But he,
My brother,
He feared her
Until one day
He became
A man and
Dominated her
One day
One power struggle
At a time—
He became her
Master
I watched
I cried
Because even I,
His equal,
I couldn’t stop him—
His lust
His sense of
Entitlement was
Growing
And is
Too strong
As I watch now
Looking at
My Mother on
Her death bed
My heart breaks
My brother,
My brother,
What have you done?
She has given of
Her blood
She has fed our
Mouths
She has shown us
The majesty of
True beauty
And she has
Given us
This world in
Love
But you,
My brother,
You have taken and
Slaughtered and
Raped with
Disregard for
Life
I watch
The beauty
That once was
My Mother
Fade before
My eyes
I watch as
Her life
Leaves
And all that
Remains is
A skeleton of
What my Mother
Used to be
As I walk
Among her
Bones in
The dust of
Her desert voice
I, her daughter,
I feel her truth—
She gave her
Life to us
And we,
My brother,
We took
Until there was
Nothing left for
Her to
Give
And yet,
Even in death
She loves
Mother,
Your legacy will
Live on in
This journey
Toward
Renewal in
Transformation of
Hope for
It is in my brother’s
Blindness that
He didn’t see
He didn’t see
You as
His Mother
But I see—
I see you
In my dream
In my mind
You are not
Dead
It was
My brother’s
Illusion
His fear
His disease that
Has allowed me
To forget that
You are alive
In the germ
Of life
In the promise
Of anew
I will hold you
As I walk
Until
My heart
Pours open
And you
Are born again
Through the love
We share
You gave life
And I,
I will give
You the life
You gave—
Even in the desert of Oedipus
You are not dead.
You will be reborn.
CL May 2010