"Soil Our Saviour", Cheyenne Alexandria Phillips
There is nowhere else to go
but down to the earth where
we often bury secrets and loved ones.
Dig me out, dig me in
blanket our problems with dirt
that helps our souls to breathe with ease.
I’m here for now
ploughing carbon while I can
toiling for a time when I, too, will give back.
Out of this mess
of our own making, bring us
Soil, Our Saviour, we pray.
/ Cheyenne Alexandria Phillips is a writer, performer, and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre. She is also a Young ASEAN Storyteller (2022). Her writing and performance credits include A Literary Trail of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (2022), Vulnerable (2021), an eight-part podcast, and A Grand Design (2020). You can find her at: https://linktr.ee/thepoeticscientist
/ COMMENTARY
“First of all, I am a sucker for religious imagery / references used in creative ways. That plus lyrics from one of my favourite bands plus connecting it to the soil/carbon cycle talking about growth and rebirth with a hint of existentialism? YES. This is why I love setting prompts, this is what I became a senior mod for!”