Refusal is Regenerative
a poem on futurity + connection to the planet and each other
Refusal is regenerative
not a wall
but a root
futurity does not wait
it grows where feet return
as soil remembers care
where our hands learn the shape
of what must not disappear
the future is not elsewhere
it is carried like water
cupped
spilled
taken in
made sovereign in this moment
as rivers decide their path
in motion
time is not a straight road
past/ present/ future/
it is firelight
leaning toward one another
smoke weaving breath and story
ash feeding new growth
refusal is not absence
it is a daily tending
conscious choice in action
land over loss
seeding over silence
even as the shade
will not be ours to rest beneath
this is how futurity grows
not postponed
not promised
but held right now
feet pressed into soil
lungs returning the wind
our memory moving in water
arms wide and stretching
backward
forward
all at once
an endless loop
no edge
no center
only what continues
unfinished
a shared knowing
that none of us were meant
to live this diminished
refusal is regenerative1
thanks for being here.
until next time,
j
The concept of regenerative refusal here is drawing from many Indigenous futurists, scholars, and artists such as: Dr. Maile Arvin (Kanaka Maoli), Dr. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg), and Dr. Audra Simpson (Kahnawá:ke Mohawk). This is not an exhaustive list, to be sure.
Want more works on nature?
Haikus and Fever Dreams
I am under the weather and should be resting. Naturally, I can’t keep still. In between repotting some plants that have been needing new homes forever and rummaging through my desk, I found an old Field Notes book from ages ago. It is full of random haikus and doodles. It might be the fever, but it has been fun to reread and remember where I was and wha…
‘made sovereign in this moment
as rivers decide their path
in motion’
Love the blending of time throughout this. There is nothing quite like movement through this present moment 🌀
i love the imagery!