Dream On - poetry by Chrystos

I have long been a fan of Chrystos' beautifully sensual love poetry and am currently reading her collection Dream On. Chrystos is an activist for lesbian and native American rights and often she is angry but she never lets her anger overwhelm her poetry. Her words are well controlled and she writes with true craft as well as passion. Images from the natural world pervade many of Chrystos' love poems, including Night Visits:

A path opens: My feet are rainbow wolves running

calling a cool song through the caves

down to the crystal blue pool

Dream On also includes a number of poems that specifically address environmental issues, including Impact:

I wish I could give you the moment when
Eagle came back into view trailing Crows with the sun dancing
on the water near the very still meadow then you'd know
even one more building anywhere in america or the world
is too many


and Going Through

We can no longer see the wild grasses
whose love flew into our baskets
Trees weep brown who have always been green
their songs hunger for bears
We're lonely they cry
with no-one to rub their backs on us.

Chrystos is an important poet I think because she shows that craft does not need to be sacrificed in the face of strong emotion and that campaigning messages are better addressed through well crafted lyricism and heartfelt emotion more effectively than through slogans and rants. She also writes the most beautiful love poetry ever (really, you need to read her work!).