PRESS RELEASE - SF 6/17-19: ECOSEXUALS UNITE FOR AN ECOSEX SYMPOSIUM & ART EXHIBIT

PRESS RELEASE

MAY 22, 2011

Contact: Center for Sex and Culture (415) 902-2071

Femina Potens Press: Malia Schaefer feminapotenspress@gmail.com 

Serena Anderlini: serena.anderlini@gmail.com

 iphone: (787) 538 1680 

Annie Sprinkle annie@anniesprinkle.org 

Elizabeth Stephens: bethstephens@me.com

San Francisco, Ca.

ECOSEXUALS UNITE FOR AN ECOSEX SYMPOSIUM & ART EXHIBIT

What's an ecosexual? Why are skinny-dipping, tree-hugging and mysophila so pleasurable? Where is the e-spot? Can the budding ecosexual movement help save the world? Who are the ecosexuals? These are some of the questions that will be discussed at the Ecosex Symposium II- a public forum where art meets theory meets practice meets activistism.

The organizers of these events are Annie Sprinkle, Ph.D., a feminist-porn-star and artist, turned "sexecologist," and Elizabeth Stephens, a UCSC art professor and environmental activist. The two women explain, "As a strategy to create a more mutual and sustainable relationship with our abused and exploited planet, we are changing the metaphor from the Earth as mother, to Earth as lover."

Artists and sybaritic cougars, Sprinkle and Stephens kick off the weekend with their "Ecosex Manifesto" an art exhibit with new collages, their ecosex wedding videos and ephemera, ecosexual photographs, and a wall text with their manifesto. Stephens and Sprinkle create art that aims to inspire more love and appreciation for the Earth and environment. The art exhibit and symposium are sponsored by Femina Potens Gallery and all events will happen at the new Center For Sex & Culture at 1349 Mission Street. The artists got a cultural equity grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission to help make it all possible.

Ecosexual theorist and author of seminal text, Gaia and the New Politics of Love, Serena Anderlini, Ph.D. is travelling from University of Puerto Rico to present the keynote, What is Ecosexual Love? A Guide to the Arts and Joys of Amorous Inclusiveness. In this production by 3WayKiss, she'll impersonate a GILF. Good Vibration's resident sexologist, Carol Queen, Ph.D., will be discussing ecorotic issues in the sex toy industry and The Sexology of Ecosexuality. Dr. Robert Lawrence, Ph.D. will cover ecosex fetishes. Also presenting are Madison Young, an award winning queer porn movie director and artist who will cover the Greening of the Sex Industry. Artist Tania Hammidi will do a dance piece about conflict, genocide and olive trees. There will be a special ecosexi-love-a-licious vegan raw lunch by Becka Shertzer's Brazennectar and Mister Cream. Other presenters are artist musicians Dylan Bolles & Sasha Hom, yogi and academic Amy Champ, and the legendary porn actress Dr. Sharon Mitchell who will talk about the sensuality of gardening. Author of the book Ecosex, Stephanie Iris Weiss will be skyping in from New York for a panel. Erospirit Institute director, Joseph Kramer, Ph.D. will expound on the spiritual aspects of ecosexuality. Other speakers will present on many more aspects of this budding new sexual movement. There will also be an open forum for symposium participants to share their work and thoughts.

Although Stephens and Sprinkle use humor in their work, they are very serious about engaging ecosex as an environmental activist strategy. They aim to, "make the environmental movement a little more sexy, fun and diverse." Additionally, they'd like to see an "E" added to GLBTQI.

PRESS PHOTOS: Available at http://loveartlab.org/press-gallery.php

INFORMATION AND TICKETS: http://www.sexecology.org/

Friday, June 17

7:00-9:30 ECOSEX MANIFESTO ART EXHIBIT OPENING &

ECOSEX SYMPOSIUM RECEPTION (Free)

Saturday, June 18

Sunday, June 19 10:00-1:30

ECOSEX SYMPOSIUM 11 ($35. No one turned away for lack of funds.)

10:30 AM to 10:45 PM

ECOSEX MANIFESTO ART EXHIBIT

The Ecosex Manifesto Art Exhibit by Elizabeth Stephens & Annie Sprinkle will be open for public viewing through July 24th.

Gallery Days and Hours: Thursdays and Fridays: 6/23 + 6/24 2:00-5:00 PM, 6/30+ 7/1 2:00-5:00 PM, 7/21 + 7/22 2:00-5:00 PM Or by appointment with the Center for Sex & Culture.

RELATED EVENTS

June 16, 8:00 Femina Poten's ECOSEXUAL QUEER PORN NIGHT-At ATA

June 19 5:00-7:00 DIRTSTAR PERFORMANCES at the Tenderloin National Forest/Luggage Store

What is 3WayKiss?  We're a non-profit dedicated to educating the public about the arts of loving and their infinite forms of expression, especially those that are playful, joyful, healthy, open, sustainable, and inclusive.  We intend to foster a public climate where the arts of loving are seen as a form of the arts of healing, and the global effort to create an emotionally sustainable planet where trusting others and sharing resources is seen as the source of abundance and peace in the world. 

Find out More and Donate to 3WayKiss

Berlusconi e gli altri presidenti - David Crowe

 

David Crowe

Berlusconi e gli altri presidenti

Silvio Berlusconi e Veronica Lario

Non si può parlare di Silvio Berlusconi senza una discussione sul sesso e le attività sessuali di questo presidente del consiglio dei ministri italiano. La moglie di Berlusconi ha chiesto il divorzio perché lui, un uomo che ha settantaquattro anni, ha regalato una collana costosa, d’oro e diamanti, a una ragazza che aveva solo diciotto anni. La ragazza chiama Berlusconi “Papi” ma nessuno è sicuro se Berlusconi è il suo amante o suo padre per una storia d’amore di venti anni fa. Un'altra volta Berlusconi ha detto che non ha mai pagato per fare sesso ma, di fatto, paga sempre per far sesso sebbene indirettamente. Molte ragazze giovani non hanno desiderio del corpo e l’anima di questo vecchio uomo ma vogliono un po’ dei suoi soldi e del suo potere. Per esempio, la moglie di Berlusconi era un’attrice in film di serie ‘B’ e ha vent’anni meno di Berlusconi. Si sarebbe sposata Berlusconi nel 1990 se lui non avesse avuto il potere e i soldi? Vent’anni fa Berlusconi l’ha desiderata con la sua giovinezza di allora che oggi è svanita. Berlusconi prende le donne a noleggio, non ne ama nessuna.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

Sarkozy è il Napoleone di Francia –  un autocrate e anche basso. È un po’sensibile alla sua statura e qualche volta sta sulla punta dei piedi e ha le scarpe con i tacchi alti. In questo caso si è sposato un’ereditiera con altezza, potere e soldi – la celebre cantante, compositrice ed ex modella, l’Italiana Carla Bruni. Forse Sarkozy ha sperato che la sessualità ignea di Carla producesse un’aura di sessualità in lui. Forse per Carla, Sarkozy è una porta per un nuovo tipo di potere internazionale.

Che e piu brutto, Berlusconi o W?

In America è diverso. Un presidente può mostrare solo un accenno di sessualità o niente. I due Bush, per esempio, non emanavano nessun senso di sessualità. Penso che sia perché  i Bush sono Repubblicani e il Partito Repubblicano in America è il più moralista del mondo ad eccezione dell’Arabia Saudita. La sessualità per un puritano deve esistere solo dentro le porte chiuse della camera matrimoniale e le due persone devono essere un uomo e una donna. In realtà è un livello d’ipocrisia severissima. Per esempio, durante la campagna vice-presidenziale di Sara Palin, sua figlia ha avuto un bambino prima delle nozze. Molti repubblicani sono omosessuali (nel ripostiglio). Per esempio, nel 2010 George Rekers, un repubblicano attivista contro l’omosessualità, ha visitato l’Europa con un “rent boy,” un prostituto per “portare le mie valigie.”

Hillary: bellezza intelligente

I politici del Partito Democratico hanno un po’ più di sessualità ma nessuno deve sapere se ciò è al di fuori delle nozze (o con una persona dello stesso sesso). Non era sufficiente per JFK che aveva una moglie bellissima – aveva anche molte amanti, Marilyn Monroe per esempio, ma nessuno lo sapeva quando era ancora vivo. Dopo la morte di JFK, Jackie ha usato la sua sensualità e il suo poter per rubare Onassis dalla cantante Maria Callas. Il potere della presidenza aumentava la desiderabilità di Jackie.

Quando si viene a sapere di una relazione extraconiugale prima delle elezioni, la carriera del candidato è finita. Una famosa foto del politico democratico Gary Hart con una giovane donna seduta nel suo grembo a bordo della nave “Monkey Business” (“Affari di Scimmie”) gli ha impedito di guadagnare la presidenza. Più recentemente, quando John Edwards ha ammesso che ha avuto un bambino con un’amante un’altra possibilità di presidenza è fallita. Berlusconi non potrebbe prendere fiato negli Stati Uniti.

Jimmy Carter era un’eccezione, un democratico senza sessualità o sensualità. Ma perfino lui ha causato uno scandalo quando ha detto che ha desiderato alcune donne che non erano sua moglie. Carter lo ha detto semplicemente per spiegare perché non esprime i giudizi morali sulle altre persone.

Hillary e Barak: belli, no?

Ci sono stati molti problemi con Bill Clinton che ha avuto molte amanti segrete. Monica Lewinsky è stata la più intelligente perché, dentro l’età dell’analisi di DNA, ha messo l’abito con il seme di Clinton in una cassaforte. Se questa prova non fosse esistita il governo l’avrebbe fatta passare per bugiarda e forse lei avrebbe avuto un incidente sfortunato. Con la sua sensualità è riuscita a far mentire Clinton e per questo motivo Clinton stava per perdere la presidenza.  Ma quando Bush ha mentito sul Iraq e i WMD inesistenti niente è accaduto, anche se dal punto di vista politico la bugia era molto più grave. 

Michelle Obama e Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

L’ultimo presidente degli Stati Uniti è anche molto sensuale e ha una moglie bella. Obama ha cambiato il suo paese perché ha la pelle nera ma anche perché ha ammesso, quando era candidato, di aver avuto una relazione dopo sue nozze con Michelle.

È progresso? Sicuramente la sensualità e la sessualità di un presidente non sono importanti. Spero che un giorno avremo i presidenti che non debbano nascondere la loro sessualità né ostentarla. Spero anche che un giorno avremo più presidentesse con la sensualità naturale in cui si possa confidare.

Il problema è che noi cittadini richiedano ad un presidente di ricoprire il ruolo di un personaggio di una favola non nella verità.

About the Author

David Crowe studied biology in university but was more fascinated by the software he wrote to produce 3-dimensional graphs and started a career in computer programming in the 1980s. This soon morphed into the design and standardization of cellular phone systems. His interest in and concern for the biological world continued, however, leading him to help found the Green Party of Alberta in the early 1990s and, a few years later, to start questioning the HIV=AIDS connection. This led to his founding of the Alberta Reappraising AIDS Society in 1999 and to his election as president of Rethinking AIDS in 2008. He organized the successful RA 2009 conference and is planning another for late 2011. He has been learning Italian since 2007 to exercise the other side of his brain and because it's such a beautiful language.

Assuaging AIDS Fears: The Eco-Sexual Arts of Sharing Love

As an author and cultural analyst, I have touched on the topic of AIDS on several occasions, before Montagnier's interview and when the issue was really embattled.  I have also been publically attacked.  And certain venues have banned me.  Cultural interpretation is extremely important in all areas of knowledge, including medicine.  Now that more is becoming apparent about the multiple perspectives from which AIDS can be interpreted and why, it is time to pronounce myself in a clear and succinct position statement that will help others orient themselves in relation to what I know and where I stand.

In my observation, when science production is commodified for profit by the private interests of Big Pharma, what often happens is that most virologists become "of the virus party."  This literary expression implies that they may (inadvertently perhaps) start rooting for the viruses they are researching.  In this case, their commitment to put humans first and protect us from harm might slip to the back of their minds.  After all, if they can prove that the virus they study causes real harm, they may get the Nobel Prize.  This mindset is a betrayal of the Hippocratic oath that all medical scientists are sworn to, namely "first do no harm."  Why?  Because believing that one is ill can cause one to die.  Medicine CAN "do harm" and that's why the Hippocratic oath is still practiced.  In Greek, the word "pharmakon" means poison.  Next time you refill your meds, think about it.
(This theory is explained in "Of the Virus Party," a wide-ranging section of my book Gaia and the New Politics of Love.)

Jumping to conclusions about a putative pathogen can be good to a virologist's career. However, it is potentially harmful to humankind because human health is multifactorial and related to the emotional and physical ecology that surrounds human life. 

HIV testing is the first step on this path.  The reliability of the test has been seriously questioned on all counts.  Furthermore, anonymous testing has been banned in countries where health care is for profit and private.  It is allowed and encouraged in countries with universal heath-care systems that function well and are free of charge, including France, Italy, and many others.  It would appear that as long as science cannot cure a disease, for the protection of individuals against medical error and other abuses of power, anonymous testing should be allowed.  For those without access to anonymous testing in their home countries, self-test kits can be ordered from Switzerland for about $ 40.  They are very easy to use at home and quite reliable.  Confidential testing is only anonymous as long as there is no error or positive result.

Testing anonymously can help one feel better and safer.  It can help assuage fears for oneself, one's partners, and partners of partners.  As a person who's been med-free for over 25 years now, I have come to rely on meditation, nutrition, healthy emotional and physical environment, good connectedness with self, a fulfilling and diverse amorous life, and inner balance, rather than testing and chemical drugs.  Attributing excessive significance to testing is not wise since by and large one's health is proportional to the strength of one's immune system rather than absence of exposure to pathogens.  Erotic, amorous, sensual, and affectional expression are big factors in the health picture of everyone.

What I bring to this conversation is also my experience as participant observer in erotic communities where resources of love are shared--and therefore abundant--as in those that practice some form of polyamory and/or bisexuality.  People in these communities typically have sex with a limited number of partners, sometimes simultaneously and over an extended period of time.  Typically this happens with full disclosure for all involved, including disclosure of number of partners and their health status.

My wisdom is that in these contexts, some measure of safer sex is highly desirable.  We live in a time when the foundations upon which human knowledge is based are shifting.  Not surprisingly, people's different understandings of STDs are not aligned enough for everyone to feel safe and comfortable otherwise.  Plus, not all diseases known to the public have a standard cure.

There is a wide range of safer-sex practices, referring, in general, to superficial body fluids, like saliva, and deep body fluids, like sperm, female ejaculate, and blood.  Safer sex practices can vary.  Complete safety typically implies dry kissing, barriers in oral sex, and condoms in penetration.  Deep-fluid only safety is also practiced, involving condoms for penetration.  These two different levels of safety can be practiced by the same person with different partners, with the second one typically for more intimate and long-term partners.  The practice of fluid bonding is reserved for partners with deep emotional bonding and trust.  Changing levels of safety involves acceptance of such change from other involved partners.
(Some of the difficulties in educating oneself and others about these practices over several world regions are narrated in my memoir, Eros: A Journey of Multiple Loves.)

These are articulate degrees of protection.  My experience is that they help to preserve the health and safety of a given erotic community, in which different people have different degrees of vulnerability, with--as a general tenet--more medication more vulnerability.

Some members of these erotic communities may be HIV positive, with the knowledge of their partners and respect for appropriate regimens of safety.

Perhaps when more is known about AIDS in a verifiable, scientifically concordant manner, some of these rules may change.  Other STDs participants tend to be wary of are Genital Herpes and Warts.  By and large, my observation is that in these communities health is proportional to good nutrition, exercise, environment, low stress level, freedom, joy, and variety in erotic, sensual, and sexual expression--not to mention meditation, yoga, and other restorative activities.  It really has nothing to do with number of partners, gender of partners, frequency of sexual activity, or HIV status. 
(For readers with more curiosity about how my views have been attacked and how I interpret the genesis of AIDS in relation to cultural fears of anal pleasure, I refer to The G Tales, 1: What's in a Word? and 2: A Gut Feeling.)

My wish in expressing this pronouncement is to create more listening and understanding among all the different groups and agents that participate in cultural discourses of health, sexuality, and the arts of love.  We need interpretations of what constitutes health--including holistic sexual health--that reflect the experiences of those engaged in the practice of love.  My position is that when sexuality is practiced in ecological ways it is healthy.  This approach to AIDS tends to assuage fears and empower people to practice love.  This applies at the local and global level.

Living is and can only be safe in a world where it is safe to love.

For a live conversation with Reappraising AIDS activists, listen to my Interview with David Crowe and Celia Ferber in How Positive Are You?

4 of 4 - Oh the Power of Ecosexual Poetry! - It's Not Called Labour for Nothing - Yemisi Ilesanmi

It’s not called labour for nothing!

Ouch, what is that kick

That makes me sick

Breaking in sweat

Oh mine, I am wet

Is that mucous

Oh just focus!

It’s coming, go get the doctor

Stop looking at the buttocks

Tis no time for old wives tales

For I am in pains and already pale

I am coming, I am coming, you screamed

Keep pushing, keep pushing now you screeched

Oh nurse, this hurts, please do something

It’s not yet time, she keeps snorting

Tis was sweet but now it’s a dilemma

Oh no try a push and a dilation

Those sweet contractions

Are now a contradiction

That leaves me frustrated

No longer besotted

Push, Push, you are all preaching

I am the one that is screeching

The baby must not come breeching

Oh what, I am bleeding!

Maybe I need an epidural

Or is this just procedural

Heavily I breathe

Now I seethe

Not cumming in ecstatic  orgasms

But pushing a human organism

Oh, I see a head

Quick I need a lead

Oh nurses stop laughing

Maybe try fawning

This isn’t funny

 I don’t feel sunny

This is no botox

Where is the doctor

I might need a suture

To give me succour

Oh dear, here comes my baby

All wet, slippery and bubbly

Beautiful as the morning dew

You have come to pay your due

Ha, tis looking for the boobs

Ready to start the smooch

In my arms tis nestled

All ready to suckle

I am ready to nurture

I guess tis in my nature

Tis suckling, You are rustled

Dad is rippling but bristled

Those boobs are mine alone

On my terms I give and loan

I do all the labour

You get all the flavour

Never again will I be pushed

This was agony I am flushed

I need science of equality to share

Our baby together we should bear

Mommy is that my sibling

Oh no, I must be blinking

Can’t afford to miss my periods

Cos things can get too serious

Little bump and grind and the baby pops

Now all I have is a pushing tot that sobs

But then I should know

One, two, three years now

I can see a rounded tommy

Ready again to be a mommy!

BY YEMISI ILESANMI 22 MARCH, 2011

Biographical Note

Yemisi Ilesanmi

Yemisi Ilesanmi is a trade union/human rights activist. She has a Masters of Law (LLM) on Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights from Keele University, Stadffordshire, UK and a Law degree(LLB) from Obafemi Awolowo University ile -Ife, Nigeria. She works with the Nigeria Labour Congress . She has served on many national and International labour/ human rights committees including as Vice president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) 2006-2009 and President of the ITUC Youth committee (2004-2009) 

Yemisi Ilesanmi is a passionate human rights activist, bisexual, atheist and an unpublished poet and budding writer. She is interested in and often make public presentations on gender issues, sexuality rights, workers rights, youth representation and environmental protection. She is commited to a world of peace where justice reigns supreme.

Text originally published as a Note on Facebook, republished here with permission.

3 of 4 - Oh the Power of Ecosexual Poetry! - I Am a Single Mother - Yemisi Ilesanmi

I am a Single Mother

I am a single mother

Proud like the other

I was a young mummy

Now wise and yummy

Yes I have a son

As bright as the sun

You say he needs a daddy

For him to be dandy

But I need no ring

To make me sing

I am a single mother

Sleek as the otter

I need no rows

To take the vows

I work and toil

But I don’t spoil

I spare the rod

But he is not rot

Sometimes I smack

Never leave a mark

I am a single mother

That is not a murder

So stop the blunders

Enough of your slanders

You need a man

Like your Nan

Soon you will sag

Funny how they nag

I really don’t know for what

Certainly not for my want!

I am a single mother

I am proud to utter

He has a father

Who is just farther

You should know

It takes Two

Not just a procreator

To be his creator

A baby a community can scold

It takes love a human to mould

I am a single mother

Stop your muttering

He is not a bastard

Don’t be a retard

He is not a furnace

For your social menace

He is not a barnacle

But a special miracle

Landing on your moon

To make you swoon

 I am a single mummy

Both sexy and yummy

 I can date, I will get a sitter

Don’t be late, I need no cheater

Just be ready  

To go steady

No drinking late

That leaves you stale

Three is a number

That leaves me somber

I am a single mother

That can go yonder

I am proud to mutter

That I am no nutter

My son praises I sing

For he is a gift I bring

I need no wedding ring

Not even a big bling

Get out of your cove

For it is time to love

BY YEMISI ILESANMI 19 March, 2011

Biographical Note

Yemisi Ilesanmi

Yemisi Ilesanmi is a trade union/human rights activist. She has a Masters of Law (LLM) on Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights from Keele University, Stadffordshire, UK and a Law degree(LLB) from Obafemi Awolowo University ile -Ife, Nigeria. She works with the Nigeria Labour Congress . She has served on many national and International labour/ human rights committees including as Vice president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) 2006-2009 and President of the ITUC Youth committee (2004-2009) 

Yemisi Ilesanmi is a passionate human rights activist, bisexual, atheist and an unpublished poet and budding writer. She is interested in and often make public presentations on gender issues, sexuality rights, workers rights, youth representation and environmental protection. She is commited to a world of peace where justice reigns supreme.

Text originally published as a Note on Facebook, republished here with permission.

2 of 4 - Oh the Power of Ecosexual Poetry! - My Genderless Love - Yemisi Ilesanmi

MY GENDERLESS LOVE!

I don’t walk straight

Not even for the bait

 I am merry yet not gay

 I am bi and I can bay

 But saying goodbye

Is not my hallmark

Yet you all smack

Like I always play

Our goal is acceptance

Where is the tolerance

I am not gay enough

To be enfolded

Not sufficiently lesbian

To be embraced

Do I even talk Trans

Can’t brace the rants

You preach diversity

As community necessity

Yet you sneer

While I leer

When in the mall

Yes I want it all

With the dick

I play and lick

And the boobs

Makes me smooch

The big breasted

Leaves me besotted

With the hermaphrodite

I am a smitten Aphrodite

With the pussy

I get all fussy

The shaven sight

To suckle all night

The pert bums

Makes me bowl

The bouncy balls

I love to maul

With the Pecs

I need no specs

I am bisexual, not a player

So don’t make me a slayer

Like you I choose my partner

It is a natural attraction

And not just a selection

A sex you choose

My love I embrace

It matters not the gender

All I want is tenderness

For my love is genderless.

By Yemisi Ilesanmi 17 March, 2011

Biographical Note

Yemisi Ilesanmi

Yemisi Ilesanmi is a trade union/human rights activist. She has a Masters of Law (LLM) on Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights from Keele University, Stadffordshire, UK and a Law degree(LLB) from Obafemi Awolowo University ile -Ife, Nigeria. She works with the Nigeria Labour Congress . She has served on many national and International labour/ human rights committees including as Vice president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) 2006-2009 and President of the ITUC Youth committee (2004-2009) 

Yemisi Ilesanmi is a passionate human rights activist, bisexual, atheist and an unpublished poet and budding writer. She is interested in and often make public presentations on gender issues, sexuality rights, workers rights, youth representation and environmental protection. She is commited to a world of peace where justice reigns supreme.

Text originally published as a Note on Facebook, republished here with permission.

1 of 4 - Oh the Power of Ecosexual Poetry! - Mother Nature, My Explosive Lover - Yemisi Ilesanmi

Mother Nature, My explosive lover !

Mother Nature

Beautiful you are

You smile and I waver

You kiss and I quiver

Aroused by your touch

Fed by your smooch

Melting my heart

Twisting my feelings

Swinging my being

With your seduction

Warm in the embrace

Of your blazing love

Your magical fingers

The waves conjures

Your tsunamic orgasm

Blows high and mighty

Many cry and scream

As you explode in cum

Your volcanic temper

Leaves me high and dry

In the grip of your love

I gasp for breath

How long shall I drown

In your magical prowess

Making love drenched

Like there is no tomorrow

Oh your anger

I cannot bear

You huff and puff

And the roof goes off

You blow hot and cold

And up it all goes in flames

You bat your seismic eyelashes

And everywhere floods

You shake your bounty

And the earth quakes

With your waves

The wind bows

You move a disc

And everything falls

Licking at your walls

Is it vanity that gives you airs

To sail on howling hairs

Do you seek attention

Or is it my provocation

That gets you in a hoot

For I am guilty too

Bombs I blow

Tear gas I howl

Carbonized air I emit

To get you to submit

Blame it on my human nature

To plough, prod and tear apart

But you my love

I thought are above

My human frailties

In all your subtleties

Lovesick I worship

At your holy shrine

In awe of your majesty

I marvel at your beauty

But now you come wheezing

With many screaming

Sorrows, tears and blood

You leave flowing

In the wake of your howling

Do you in sadistic pleasure gloat

Seeing the disaster you float

Or are these disasters

A harrowing cry for help

Do you cower in the dark

Hoping for a hug

You I cannot but bug

Amidst the floating bodies

Do you hear the screams

Of your helpless victims

Children, old and young

Barely hanging on

Do you flinch?

As they cling?

I preach acceptance

My wish is tolerance

I accept diversity

As life's necesity

But how long shall I bear

The brunt of your anger

Or is it just who you are

Oh mother nature, my love

With your tears you let me know

You are neither a God nor a Goddess

But like me, just a mere creation

You and I are not perfect

My human caprice we will capture

Your wild nature we will nurture

I tame mine, we tame yours

You and I babe

Can be together

A lifetime longer.

Yemisi Ilesanmi

By Yemisi Ilesanmi 14 March, 2011

Biographical Note

Yemisi Ilesanmi is a trade union/human rights activist. She has a Masters of Law (LLM) on Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights from Keele University, Stadffordshire, UK and a Law degree(LLB) from Obafemi Awolowo University ile -Ife, Nigeria. She works with the Nigeria Labour Congress . She has served on many national and International labour/ human rights committees including as Vice president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) 2006-2009 and President of the ITUC Youth committee (2004-2009) 

Yemisi Ilesanmi is a passionate human rights activist, bisexual, atheist and an unpublished poet and budding writer. She is interested in and often make public presentations on gender issues, sexuality rights, workers rights, youth representation and environmental protection. She is committed to a world of peace where justice reigns supreme.

Text originally published as a Note on Facebook, republished here with permission.