By Nature And Not Commodity
By Nature And Not Commodity
And when I needed toilet paper
I crumpled up white Eddy
Made it softer and soaked it in thunderstorm humidity
Dried and it and it was ready.
And when I needed underwear
I wore some panty liners
When they ran out, turned my undies inside out
Or washed them in sink, dried them on the porch.
And when we needed to bread the walleye
I walked on the waxed bag: escalator of crackers
Grabbed the lemons for the gin and sodas
And mixed the fresh-caught fish in the batter.
And when I needed a shower
I heated river water on the woodstove
And used my sock and washed my bod
And made my daytime stuff my bed clothes.
Funny how when the electricity ran out
I fired up the BBQ and cooked our stuff
Meat we had hunted, potatoes from the garden:
Supper’s done, let’s turn on the stars now.
So if I’m so resourceful
In making use of what little
I have to get by,
Which suffices and delights
So if I’m so happy, travelling,
Out of a suitcase and two sweaters
That I interchange for
A fortnight
Then why do I choose to live as I do
And are you living the same way, too,
Dying, lying?
I may have some neat ideas
Or maybe ofttimes … IMPRESS
But I’m as redundant as an electric fan
In the Canadian wilderness.
My city life here makes it clear
I’m about as stale as the ideas
Pre-packaged for us to digest
To consume; becoming complacent.
All the things my body needs
Is revealed when I have Nothing.
All the things your spirit breathes
Is revealed when you toss the obvious –
The store-bought toilet paper
The impeccable underwear
The name-brand recipes
The drain on water resources
The dependency on electricity
The reliance on technology
X marks the spot
Where you need airing out
By nature
And not
Commodity.
© Sylvie Hill 2014
ART: dixon / “Fresh Air” / 37x66cm / enamel on found laminated image / 2008 | http://dixon-art.tumblr.com/post/26088608266/dixon-fresh-air-37x66cm-enamel-on-found