I Become One
KM Sharp
I Become One
Poems
by KM Sharp
Copyright 2014 KM Sharp
Cover art by Robert Bram Silvey
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Dedication
To Mother
Acknowledgements
I would like to personally thank the following people and organizations for their inspiration, encouragement, support, generosity and kindness. Sweet Bobby for his amazingly beautiful cover art and unconditional love, my awesome mentor The Dressel for helping me find my voice, my Family and Friends and fellow Poets and Writers. To the (Un)Stable Writers for helping me hone my writing skills and to Amanda, Matt and Ben for editing lots and lots over the years and Arielle for last minute final edits. To the St. Louis, Los Angeles and International literary, music, video and art communities for being so welcoming. Dressel’s Public House, Atomic Cowboy and Saint Louis Regional Arts Commission for providing free venues for poetry shows and events. To all of the hosts, participants, and audience members from Poems, Prose and Pints, Voices from the Underground and 100 Thousand Poets for Change. To all those individuals advocating and promoting positive change, equality, sustainability and peace—your work has influenced me greatly. And a special thank you to Swathimaa for offering to sponsor this project and to the precious Trees for providing the lovely paper that these and many other poems were originally composed on. This book would not have been written without all of you!
Table of Contents
Preface
Into The Sea: Confessions of a Cruise Line Pirate
Liquid Lies
Where are the Bees?
Children of the Chemical Wars*
Stop Fighting!*
Operation Green Thumb*
About the Author
*These poems appear on the 100 Thousand Poets for Change website and has been archived by Stanford University LOCKSS Program (2011-2012)
Preface
In light of all the serious environmental issues we, the global community, are facing today, it is easy to sit back and watch as the world falls apart around us and to become engulfed by an overwhelming feeling of despair and helplessness. But, instead of giving into this fear and destruction mentality, I have chosen to use my voice, words and experiences to bring awareness and to promote change. I write these poems, not as a finger-pointer, but as a tool for awakening my fellow human beings. In hopes that perhaps this awakening will bring about understanding that we are hurting our SELF in the process. When you rearrange the letters Earth, it spells Heart—our true essence lies in the Heart. Therefore, the Earth is within us. This is who we are and it is important to remember that we did not come to this Earth, we are of this Earth=ONE. Mother Earth birthed each and every one of us but we never actually left the womb. We cannot breathe without the air and our bodies are 50% to 75% water, we cannot survive here without the plants, trees, animals and bugs and yet somehow we have forgotten all of this. We are choosing to destroy each other and the very delicate ecosystem, our own Mother-Self who is keeping us alive. This disconnection from Nature has left us all feeling as though something is missing deep within, as though we have lost a part of ourselves, and that pain resonates in the chest and we touch this place at the Heart center with our hands to comfort when we hurt. We keep frantically searching to find something to fill this empty space or heal the untouchable wounds and yet everything we are looking for has been right here all along. All you have to do is open your eyes, walk outside and feel the soil under your feet, feel the gentle wind on your skin, cool water from a river flowing through your fingers and the warm sun on your face and you will remember—all of this teeming life is you--all of this is literally inside you. You are not on the Earth, YOU ARE THE EARTH. Once we realize this, each of us as individuals can make personal choices and changes in our own lives. Out of this knowledge comes a form of empowerment and we can embrace and harness this transformational power that we have always had within us to create heaven or hell here on Earth. Then one by one, we can begin to plant the seeds, grow and bloom just as our ancestors did before us. Through this process the I and We will eventually merge into ONE again and, from this Open Heart, the true teacher within will step forward as a brilliant LIGHT exuding wisdom that flows MOTHER=EARTH=HEART=SELF=ONE. Forgiveness, Love, Compassion, Generosity, Gratitude, Peace, Joy and unfathomable Beauty will begin to flourish, nourish and heal and all will BE. And it all begins in you…
Into the Sea: Confessions of a Cruise Line Pirate
I sailed upon a cruise ship that floated on the ocean
We always seemed to make a bit of a rippled waved commotion
When the Captain’s wheel spun in a circular motion as we sailed
Into the Sea
In the Caribbean Islands we dumped our oils
Throughout sand and water we spread our spoils
Covering animals and land flowing like black coils
Into the Sea
Cruising the Ocean playfully under night’s moon rounded dish
We would drink, smoke and fornicate over the salty fish
Screamed into the dark--yelling our wants, hates and myths
Into the Sea
We ate and drank until our bellies exploded
Dumped our liquored waste as septic tanks imploded
Without any thought as it settled and eroded
Into the Sea
We wrapped presents of trash in colorful cloaks
Tossed in containers we didn’t want to clean or soak
Discarded--never to be seen as it sank into the dark watery smoke
Into the Sea
In Canada we trolled forbidden waters and broke the maritime rules
To peek at Nature’s being, something we’ve never understood=fools
We thought it was impressive and seemed like it would be “cool” as we sailed
Into the Sea
We fished the cold waters until we had more than we could ever need
Threw to the birds what we no longer cared for--they devoured our feed
Then they too brought it back and dropped it
Into the Sea
We destroyed the deep underwater life, we did not believe even existed
Upon discovering the damage we caused; we still partied with drinks double fisted
Consuming with appetites galore which we no longer resisted as we sailed
Into the Sea
In Alaska we cruised by the glaciers
Applauded when pieces fell off like wafers
Unaware of global warming--that we were the initiators as we sailed
Into the Sea
In the Gulf we threw leftovers and sewage overboard
Pouring out what we wanted to disappear after years of gathering hoards
Memories and pictures of futures fell like leaves and boards
Into the Sea
Our anchors scraped and scarred the ocean’s floor
We tossed sand and soot into the faces of those who lived on the shore
We danced into the night as the engines turned and roared as we sailed
Into the Sea
We crushed reefs, habitats and homes
Places of peaceful water born creatures, we couldn’t just leave alone
In many ports we docked, anchored and without fail we set sail to aimlessly roam
Into the Sea
Liquid Lies
Where are t
he Bees?
