July 23, 2003
Awakened Woman's Circle is working for peace
New poems
by Janine Canan
Mass for the Dead Species
Hail Mary full of Grace,
the spirit is with You,
blessed are You and the fruit of your womb&emdash;
Hibicadelphus wilderianus,Viola Cryana,
Achyranthes atollensis,
Argyroxiphium virescens,
Chasmistes brevirostris and liorus,
Coregonus nigripennus and jobanae,
Cottus echinatus,
Pantosteus!
Mother of Truth
beautiful, loving, perpetual and perfect,
in whom everything lives --
Orestias cuvieri,Lepidomeda mollispinis pratensis and altivelis,
Rhynichtys osculus reliquus,
Cyprinodon nevadensis calidae,
Empetrichtys merriami,
latops pahrump and concavus,
Amistad gambusia,
Ash Meadow killfish!
Compassionate Mother
of those who seek You,
cry to You and have faith in You&emdash;
Grass Valley speckled and Mexican dace
(eigenmani and tlahuacensis),Pahranagat spinedace,
Lake Titacaca orestias,
Longjaw cisco,
Pahrump and Raycraft Ranch poolfish,
Phantom and Rio Grande bluntnose shiners,
Ameiva major!
Ruler of Heaven and Earth,
spirit of all things near and far&emdash;
protect us, assist us, forgive us&emdash;
Spring Valley sucker,Tecopa pupfish,
Rana pipiens fisheri ,
Thicktail chub,
Discoglossus nigriventer,
Podarcis lifordi rodriquezi and sicula sanctistephanus,
Cyclura collei and cornuta onchiopsis,
one hundred species of Pacific snails!
Grieving and weeping
in this world of tears,
we sigh, Mother, have compassion --
Alsophis ater and sancticrucis,Dromicus cursor andornatus,
Bolyera multocarinata,
Anas georgica niceforoi
and gibberifrons remissa,
Eutriorchis astur,
Crax fasciolata pinima,
Ortalis vetula deschaunseei!
Supreme Mother, hear our sorrow,
soften our suffering,
cure our misfortune&emdash;
Rallus wakensis,Anadorhynchys glaucus,
Sceloglaux albifacies albifacies,
Xenicus longipes variabilis,
Vermivora bachmanii,
Hemignathus lucidus hanapepe
and obscurus procerus,
Loxops maculata flammea!
O Purest, O Sweetest,
we beseech You, may your name
always be on our lips --
Red-moustached fruit dove,Wake Island rail,
Dusky seaside sparrow,
Greater Amakihi,
Madagascar serpent eagle,
Thylacinus cynocephalus,
Geocapromys brownii thoracatus,
Canis lupus rufus!
Holy Mother, pray for our wrongs
now and at the hour of our death,
pray for our salvation --
Texas red wolf,Ursus arctos nelsoni,
Mexican silver grizzly,
Viverra megaspila civettina,
Panthera pardus jarvisi,
Zalophus californianus japonicus,
Monarchus tropicalis,
Rangifer tarandus greonlandicus!
Dearest Mother, blessed are You
and blessed is the fruit
of your holy womb --
The birds, the fish, the trees, the shrubs
and flowers innumerable --
eagle, wolf, bear and butterfly,
three species every hour,
this very hour,
and the next hour
and the next hour after --
gone forever.
The Big Taboo
We do not speak
maleviolence
the word
maleviolence
the thought
maleviolence
the memory
maleviolence
because
maleviolence
we are afraid
maleviolence
of what will happen
maleviolence
if we do
maleviolence
if we don't
maleviolence
we do not speak.
Passion Flower
Oh
your large floppy petals,
pink pearled moist.
Oh your wiry spidery
purple lashed eye.
All face now, all exposed,
your heart rises to the surface
and gives you away.
Oh pink petaled starry
passion flower
you.
-- For Julia Butterfly
Flamencas, Olé
Flamencas,
young fire dancers,
your crimson trains drip life's endless blood,
drop hot female tears,
ruffle on ruffle as empires come conquering,
taking you for entertainment, raping you for thrills&emdash;
blood women dancing, pounding,
cascading cosmic energy into the black earth&emdash;
old crones shriek, Olé!
Sapphire eyes, your hair of gold, jet and ochre,
your skin pale, dark and darker,
your arms rippling heavenward,
your smiles chorusing love,
your dresses dotted with stars&emdash;
oh Energy! Entranced in your creation,
you lay it on, wise sisters of joy
who lead us onward&emdash;
we adore you, olé!
And you men who follow,
darling sons of the Mother,
shakti boys, you sweet ones,
you good of the Earth
who are ours, oh wanderers,
never to be forgotten.
All you beautiful children of pounding hearts,
learn every lesson you need to survive in joy&emdash;
flame queens, Flamencas, olé!
The Grandmothers cheer you,
old angels who fed you blood of their wombs,
milk of their breasts, love of their hearts.
Women on fire everywhere&emdash;
no one can take your fire away.
Though men come flexing their muscles,
oozing their mourning from battle to battle,
seeding the world with despair and remorse,
sapping, souring, destroying it, nolé!
Women never fail to give, to nurture, to inspire, to be --
beautiful women flaming life.
No one can steal your secrets, no way!
You fire the world with the fire you draw
from your own feminine selves&emdash;
womb, egg, mitochondria, life-force.
You concentrate it, increase it, beautify it,
warm it, ignite, unite and pass it on&emdash;
Flamencas in love with life. Olé! Olé! Olé!
Pre/Post History
The carnival is ending&emdash;
we are burning the King.
What lovely flames -- flapping
wings of illumination.
Truth-joy.
Returning, unfolding,
being what Our Mother wants.
All this can easily happen if you want it.
Just concentrate. Show your soul.
Strip off the rest, and shine.
Supreme Goddess
You laid the golden egg.
You rolled the silver disk.
You flew the emerald world.
You made all this, and made us too.
Goddess, come back and tell us why.
Janine Canan is poetry editor for Awakened Woman. Poems have been flowing through for half a century, gathering in the books Shapes of Self, Her Magnificent Body, Changing Woman, In the Palace of Creation: Selected Works 1969-1999, Journeys with Justine, and Dancing with Divine Mother. Dedicated to the resurrection of the Feminine, Janine has collected the work of other women as well, in She Rises like the Sun: Invocations of the Goddess by Contemporary American Women Poets, Star in My Forehehad: Selected Poems by Else Lasker-Schueler, The Rhyme of the Ag-ed Mariness: Last Poems of Lynn Lonidier, and In the Language of the Heart: Messages from Amma. You may visit her at JanineCanan.com