Earth Witch
- Publisher
- Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd.
- Initial publish date
- Sep 1982
- Category
- Canadian, General, NON-CLASSIFIABLE
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780920080177
- Publish Date
- Sep 1982
- List Price
- $14.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
Description
An examination of lesbian eroticism, this is a powerful book of poems about one woman's escape from deadening housewifery to a new world of liberating artistic creation and love between women.
About the author
Anne Cameron was born in Nanaimo, BC. She began writing at an early age, starting with theatre scripts and screenplays. In 1979, her film Dreamspeaker, directed by Claude Jutra, won seven Canadian Film Awards, including best script. After being published as a novel, Dreamspeaker went on to win the Gibson Award for Literature. She has published more than 30 books, including the underground classic Daughters of Copper Woman, its sequel, Dzelarhons, novels, stories, poems and legends - for adults and children. Her most recent novels are Family Resemblances, Hardscratch Row, and a new, revised edition of Daughters of Copper Woman. She lives in Tahsis, BC
Excerpt: Earth Witch (by (author) Anne Cameron)
I HAVE KNOWN MALE SMELLS
I have known male smells
the sharp tang of sweat
he acrid biting odour of after-sex
the early morning heaviness
the chlorine-bleach smell of semen
Sharp, insistent, demanding scents
Now I learn my own scents
Soft pervasive woods-and-moss scents
musk and secrets
shadows and invitation
A very different world
Much
gentler
YOU
You
are Woman
You
are power
sheathed in softness
finely toned muscles
beneath velvet skin
clinging to me
You
are Woman
ripe scented and damp
enfolding me
holding me safe
your voice soft
in my ear
your breath warm
on my skin
There is safety in you
and nurturing
You renew me
You
are woman
DO YOU KNOW
Do you know
when you are lying with me
my hands on your bum, stroking,
my fingers teasing, exploring, entering,
Lips pressing
mouths fused
tongues touching
Do you know
what I mean
when I say
I Love You
Do you know
your nipples become pebbles under my palm
your belly softens
your thigh muscles tighten
your legs become rock hard, cling to me
Do you know
when I say
I Love You
I mean it
WHY
Why
do you trap your breasts
in nylon cages hide your nipples,
mask your body scent
with baby powder
and lock your
satin soft body
from sight or touch
Why
do you attack your body hair
with scissors
and razor
trim your bush
into submission
and flush the snippets
down the toilet
We
have lain together
soaked in sweat
on sheets rumpled and creased
by hours of love.
Then
as the storms receded
you noticed
your menstrual blood
on my fingers
and you were
appalled
because I was not,
and I do not
understand
