White Elephant

Gracias Amigo  por favor senor
I am much obliged
You have gifted me
Fantastic white elephant
I specially appreciate the tusks
I cannot sell
Ivory trade is banned
Toothsomely.
Give you  a gift too
For you I leave my regards
In a blank blissful card.

You were right about the  fifth element
That would power an universe anew.
It wasnt a lab grown culture ir current passed through vaccum
Or superconductors.
It came packaged as 'she'
To show humans humanity
Grace and peace in smiling eyes
Trident  and discus to demolish lies.
But papa's little girl still
Bowing to preachers will
Not sure what her destiny meant she took to fortune telling
Snd took to tents of
Prophesy
Her truth was tainted
Heresy.

The oldest of the palm readers
A daguerrotype of witches
Sheds molten wax on my palm says my days will burn and melt
I must sail away on adventure
mission.
Was my candlelight silhouette such a fright for the old hag?
So I met them the missionary men.
Took up service.
Got bored.
Reality sold out so often.
It didnt pay the piper.

We're women we have worked for love.
We have worked for faith.
We have worked for dignity
We even worked for free.
When we thought it duty.
Well
Now it
Is time to realize our dues.

I am a chimera of change
Shimmering in chambers
Of my bicameral brain
I'm
A poet
In a seance
With my historical selves
The caucus
Of time's hour glass
turned
Over and over
again.

I steal time
I spend  time
I sell time cheap
With my world clock.
I peer and peek
At all hours keep my eyes peeled for opportunities...
To break through
The infamous seals
Of your air locks
Sacred Hearts
prayerful mothers
Human hope is deliverance
From sacred profanities
Of establishment.
Tradition at the cost of performance
Has become ritual suicide.

Night
My sister
I should really package this white elephant this expensive exorbitant high maintenance gift this toothsome tusker of sophistry
Up in my attic.

For more deserving progeny to decipher when  dark desperate ages befuddle them.

Now progesterone dictates
I prepare for birth pangs
And this gift priced so high will
Probably come too dear for me
I so sensitive to pain no man can feel
I shirk pain sister low tolerance
I scream  inside and look upon grief, glazed abraded.
But no more abased. Or
degraded.

Grace
Now serenade me.
Peace
Now pray for me.
I lose my poise I murder peace and grace
When I see  the white elephants of the world ugly complacent immovable resilient.
Immobility  deified
And simply too bothersome  too costly to dispose or displace.
So much easier   to heave asigh
And deny the girl child a book or bowl of rice
Pretending your flesh and bone distilled from your essence is predestined for someone else.

Its easy to rear sons you say
A son is strong and that's  enough he can't be wrong
carrier of bloodlines
Family fortunes and name
Sons are God's kiss of luck
Women are to use and tame
and dispose.
I am throwing my white
elephants out of my life
I can see Rising Roses
In blood red bloom
Women in beatific lotus poses
Mudras  carving air
cutting losses
Climbing off your crosses
And men all the time
You were washing your hands of sin
Not willing to step in
Willing a war that you cannot afford to win...
Losing half of you and yours.
Meanwhile
your sisters
...
Weeping with joy we were dancing upon the graves
Of white elephants. 

All rights reserved
(c) Amrita Valan 2014