Becoming Revolution

by Ti Klingler

Looking for a poem for this month’s theme, Revolution, took me through the last four years of poems. I was glad that I used a recent Cosmic Cowgirl’s SPARK! course to inspire myself to create yearly collections. It was amazing to wander through each year and see how my heart and spirit were revealed and how my relationship with the Muse is the cornerstone of my artistic pursuits. Without Her, I would never meet the characters that appear as I write.
As soon as I read “Civilized,” I knew I had found what I wanted. Revolutionaries are known by what they do, but it is who they are, and even more importantly, whom they decide to be, that drives those actions. Here we meet a potential revolutionary who is denying us his fire. More than one of us can relate. As you read the poem, imagine what verb you are here to contribute to the world. Have you become too civilized to create or join the revolution that whispers to your heart or shouts to your dancing feet? I’d love to hear what you discover.

Civilized

He could be voted least
Likely to startle anyone,
Anywhere. Tremulous
Old women feel wolfish
In his presence. It is the
Sort of cringing that
Makes one’s feet itchy
For kicking. Every child
Born is a new verb in the
World’s language. Living
In his head as if he were a
Minor piece of punctuation,
A comma toward the end of
A wearying run-on sentence,
Denies Life his word, the one
He was brought here to be,
Do, illustrate for the rest of
Us. I could not count my
Joy if he were to turn on
Us, growl, throw an
Unexpected rug before the
Campfire, tasseled and rich, and
Howl. These old women are monsters,
Rewarding his mildness. Look in his
Eye; that’s a warrior’s head tilt,
Caught for a moment as he feels the
Warm breeze, before he tucks himself
Into the ill-fitting sheepskin and folds
Himself into the version of man he
Thinks least likely to offend. You
Can tell by the stink of him,
This is no milky
Extra on the set.
This is God,
Civilized.

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Ti is on the lookout poetry by Cosmic Cowgirls she can feature in this column. Won’t you send her your poem?

Cosmic Cowgirls can submit poems and a brief bio directly to Ti at ti.cosmiccowgirls@gmail.com. (Submissions may be edited due to space constraints. Please limit submissions to 250 words.)

Ti Klingler is an Intrinsic Coach® and artist who lives in the East Bay. A graduate of the Cosmic Cowgirls’ Legendary Life, Medicine Wheel, and Sheroe’s Journey mentorships, she wrote a poem every day from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2012 and began another daily poem practice on January 1st, 2013. Ti is passionate about everyone seeing their own beauty and trusting their desires. She begins the Color of Woman Teacher Training in April to help her share that passion with others. She hopes to see you in The Red Key, the Cosmic Cowgirls online creative vision quest, in which poetry, painting, art journaling, and YOU come together to court the Muse.