“Chanting the Waters” (2016)
in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe & all peoples protecting the sacred waters of this earth
water is life becuz our bodies are 60 percent water
becuz my wife labored for 24 hours through contracting waves
becuz our sweat is mostly water & salt
becuz she breathed & every other breath is birthed from the ocean
water is life becuz our lungs are 80 percent water
becuz water broke forth from her body
becuz amniotic fluid is 90 percent water
becuz our daughter crowned like a new island
water is life becuz our blue planet is 70 percent water
becuz some say water came from asteroids & comets
becuz some say the ocean formed within the earth from the beginning
becuz water broke forth from shifting tectonic plates
water is life becuz the ocean is 99% of the biosphere
becuz we say our gods created water
becuz no human has found a way to safely create water
water is life because we can’t drink oil
becuz water is the next oil
becuz we wage war over gods & water & oil
water is life becuz only 3 percent of global water is freshwater
becuz the water footprint of an average american is 2000 gallons a day
becuz it takes 660 gallons of water to make one hamburger
becuz more than a billion people lack access to clean drinking water
becuz in some countries women & children walk 4 miles every day to gather clean water
& carry it home
becuz we can’t desalinate the entire ocean
water is life becuz if you lose 5 percent of your body’s water you will become feverish
becuz if you lose 10 percent of your body’s water you will become immobile
becuz we can survive a month without food but less than a week without water
water is life becuz we proclaim water a human right
becuz we grant bodies of water rights to personhood
becuz some countries signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
becuz my wife says the Hawaiian word for wealth, waiwai, comes from their word for water, wai
water is life becuz corporations steal, privatize, dam, & bottle our waters
becuz sugar, pineapple, corn, soy, & gmo plantations divert our waters
becuz concentrated animal feeding operations consume our waters
becuz pesticides, chemicals, oil, weapons, & waste poison our waters
water is life becuz we say stop, you are hurting our ancestors
becuz they say we thought this was a wasteland
becuz we say stop, keep the oil in the ground
becuz they say we thought these bones were fuel
becuz we say stop, water is sacred
becuz they say we thought water is a commodity
becuz we say we are not leaving
becuz they say we thought you were vanishing
becuz we are water warriors & peaceful protectors
becuz they call us savage & primitive & riot
becuz we bring our feathers & lei & sage & shells & canoes & drones & hashtags & totems
becuz they bring their bulldozers & drills & permits & surveillance drones & helicopters
becuz we bring our treaties & the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
becuz they bring their banks & politicians & police & private militia & national guard & lawyers
becuz we bring our songs & schools & lawyers & prayers & chants & ceremonies
becuz they bring their barking dogs & paychecks & pepper spray & rubber bullets
becuz we bring all our relations & all our generations & all our livestreams
water is life becuz our drumming sounds like rain after drought echoing against our taut skin
water is life becuz our blood is 90 percent water
becuz every minute a child dies from water-borne diseases
becuz every day thousands of children die from water-borne diseases
becuz every year millions of children die from water-borne diseases
water is life becuz my daughter loves playing in the ocean
becuz someday she will ask us, “where does the ocean end?”
becuz we will point to the dilating horizon
water is life becuz our eyes are 95 percent water
becuz we will tell her that the ocean has no end
becuz we will tell her that the sky & clouds carry the ocean
becuz we will tell her that the mountains embrace the ocean into a blessing of rain
becuz we will tell her that the ocean-sky-rain fills aquifers & lakes
becuz we will tell her that the ocean-sky-rain-lake flows into the Missouri River
becuz we will tell her that ocean-sky-rain-lake-river returns to the ocean & connects us
to our cousins at Standing Rock
becuz we will tell her about the sacred stone of a mother holding her child
becuz we will tell her that the Sioux are still there & still breathing
water is life becuz our hearts are 75 percent water
becuz, while my daughter is sleeping, i will chant to her, my people’s word for water:
“hanom, hanom, hanom,” so her dreams of water carry us home
becuz water is life, water is life, water is life