Feral and Fearless

Feral and Fearless
In memory of my wild mother

The animal that is this body
Is feral--like a wild horse
With a lust for freedom
And my mind is the rider

The mind is programmed
To tame, to domesticate
To corral and tether
This wild beast

To break it
To be a beast of burden
For kings 
And corporations

Mind is programmed
With religion, with fear
With education, with culture
With the rules of society

But this horse, my body
Has always bucked the rider
It has been an uneasy union
Heart versus mind

Depression is a tethered horse
Who remembers galloping
Across open meadows
With other horses

Addiction is a coralled horse
Who remembers grazing leisurely 
Without limited portions 
And regimented meal times

As I shut down the task master
--my programmed mind
I feel the aliveness
My authentic wild self awakening 

Full of intuition and knowing
Feral and fearless
United with the God‐ness 
In everything

I see my bridled sisters
Reined in and girdled
Being used in service 
To the colonizer mindset

Only to be pastured 
Without ever knowing
That they and the wind
Are One

bjbeyers 8/9/2023