GALLERY

If water had a voice

What might she say to us today?

I think of her as the fluid feminine –

That which flows and grows, and holds

The earth together by her life force.

Maybe she would remind us of her

Gifts to us all – from the mass of our

Bodies that are composed of her – to

The tears we release when we are out

Of sync with the life around us – also gift.

As she flows there must be a consciousness

That knows that much is wasted and abused

And taken for granted. The gift of a darkening

Sky before a storm is reason for celebration

In Arizona – a wish come true as the skies

Open and the smell of ozone fills our senses,

Reminding us of earlier times. It is a rare

Happening. I want to recall in this artwork,

The earth as a living breathing organism

That gifts me daily and asks only that I care

For the gifts entrusted to me. The water we

Have is the water have. It cannot be flown

In or made in mass amounts to cover the

Losses of what goes down the drain. I ask

My eyes to stay awake to these thoughts

And as Rumi suggests in a poem not

“go back to sleep.”

Maleita Wise

Artist statement to “Can You Hear Me Now?”

Mixed media on plexiglass