Maria Palumbo

"I am bored with your shiny white goddesses
with bodies the width of a rope
attractive ones with flowing hair and hands
folded in prayer across the heart
to let us know they are spiritual and good and powerful
they go without the hunger that keeps the body awake.

They tell me what to eat
what to think, what to hate
a new exhausting fad in the name of consciousness.
Adorned with prayer beads and witchy mantras.
I feel empty in my body when I watch the spectacle.

That having the right guru outfit
and the next spiritual trip is what it is about.

These goddesses lead us down the rabbit hole
of some symbol, some ritual,
some other thing we should do
to let us know who we are.

You tell me to trust the Universe,
meaning sit around on my arse
or create a new vision board and
stuff a crystal in my bra
and I'm good to go.
I want the responsibility of my life.
I do not to hand it over to a horoscope,
a psychic.

I want to be messy and yearn
and feel what it is to be in relationship
that yearns right back.
I want to lick the goddamn whipped cream
that may or may not be vegan off my fingers.
I want to suck the marrow out of life and
feel it suck right back.
I want to feel the rain on my skin and
not package it into a pretty spiritual picture.
I want to knock down my walls
one by one until i can only see
myself staring right back."

~Maria Palumbo

photo: Helena Bonham Carter