Isabella Orr
“The theme of Mother has always been central to my poetry writing . . . I often combine the image of Mother/Mother Earth with topics of social justice in my work. Truthfully, I had done this unintentionally. However, this is not to say, it was done by mistake.”
— Briana Muñoz, Matriarchy: Sacred Poems
Throughout Briana Muñoz’s newest collection, Matriarchy: Sacred Poems, the ‘mother’s rage’ pushes for a shift towards a matriarchal structuring of society. She, the mother, is a central figure throughout these poems and expressed in various facets: caretaker, lover, activist, and individual. The collection speaks to the interconnectedness of the Mother with the Earth, as well as her relationship with others and herself. Typically through indirect correlation, Muñoz also explores the perspective of mothers in regard to different topics like colonialism, genocide, and patriarchy. These themes are scattered throughout the collection as she speaks out against injustices and appreciates the wonders of birth, with each poem offering a glimpse into her mind. While Motherhood does take a central role in Matriarchy: Sacred Poems, the collection as a whole sometimes works against ideas central to motherhood—compassion and acknowledgement—and thus creates a text where poems can feel out of place within the larger narrative.
The birth of her first child led Muñoz to view the world through the lens of Mother rather than daughter, the transition being both abrupt and instinctual — taking care of her own now comes as naturally as breathing to her.
One of Muñoz’s strengths throughout Matriarchy is the emphasis and pride she places on the identity and importance of motherhood. The birth of her first child led Muñoz to view the world through the lens of Mother rather than daughter, the transition being both abrupt and instinctual—taking care of her own now comes as naturally as breathing to her. A majority of her poems focus on this instinctual switch, and the simmering rage that accompanies it, as she now has a child she must always care for and protect. The first poem in the collection, “By Any Means Necessary,” and the last poem in the collection, “Burial Ceremony,” are both tributes to her daughter and the power that Motherhood has given her. In “By Any Means Necessary,” the cries of her newborn child wake her from slumber and remind her that “no document in the world/can justify/mothers being ripped away from their young ones.” Becoming a mother has created for her a deeper recognition of the monstrosities that mothers around the world facing genocide and colonization and brutalization must endure for their children. Motherhood, from Muñoz’s perspective, means caring for your child more than yourself because you now see their lives as much more precious than yours. Atrocities such as genocide and police brutalization only exacerbate this fact. Her poems “For Hind Rajab and the 13,000 other Palestinian children and young teens that have been killed by Israeli fire” and “As She Held Your Last Breath” focus on the current genocide in Palestine and the 2020 murder of George Floyd through the overarching lens of the lifelong effects these cruelties have on the mothers of these innocent children and people. “Hind Rajab” starts with a quote from her mother condemning the governmental institutions that led to and furthered the genocide that killed her baby; “As She Held Your Last Breath” ends with a footnote telling the reader that one of George Floyd’s last words was “Mama.” Even though death has taken them from this world, their mothers will remember them forever. They will always want to be protected by their mothers, even in their last breaths. In times of distress, all people want is their mother to be by their side. Highlighting her own experiences as a new mother (in addition to mothers who have faced the death of their children and are actively demanding justice) through her poetry hammers home one of her goals with this collection. Muñoz strives to make sure her readers understand that no anger is as powerful as a mother’s rage.
Alongside the numerous poems she writes about Motherhood, Muñoz focuses on the various ways her upbringing shaped how she views the world today through her poetry. Sometimes they connect to Motherhood, and sometimes they don’t—and when they don’t, the disconnect is rather apparent. Stories and practices from her Mexican and Indigenous heritages are woven throughout her poems, with the idea of ceremony being highly prevalent in her more personal poems such as “Body as Self Ceremony” and “Sex as Ceremony.” The emphasis of “ceremony” in the titles specifically however, almost diminishes the subject they want to convey; sometimes the ideas and titles should just speak for themselves. The care undertaken in ceremonial practices should reflect the care put into making the world a better place—another major message Muñoz reflects on in her collection. It is ceremony that has allowed her to know herself and her communities, to become a mother, to become one with her body and her partner, and to better understand and fight for causes that matter. She remembers her roots fondly through poems like “I Grew Up Going to la Pulga” and “I Told My Mamma I Wanted to Be Like Martin Luther King Jr.,” where realizations of injustice already began sparking a fire within her little heart. The injustices within her community allow her to speak out against the colonization of the land she grew up in and the land that she moved to to start her new life in. Poems such as “Tourism as Colonization” focus on the ways in which tourism and human interaction have negatively impacted national parks and animal rights, thus acting as a form of colonization of the natural world. “How To Reimagine America” brings readers back in time to the origins of America and calls for a complete change in the systems that currently exist and encage their citizens. While not explicitly focused on motherhood, these topics remind readers to care and appreciate all Mother Earth does for us. Becoming a more informed member of her community and appreciating the land she lives on allowed her to connect more with herself and her family. Even with the reprieve from motherhood and the new autonomy it’s granted her, Muñoz’s poems still strive to create new perspectives in which to view motherhood and the world around us.
It is ceremony that has allowed her to know herself and her communities, to become a mother, to become one with her body and her partner, and to better understand and fight for causes that matter.
While the themes present throughout this collection are now more important than ever to discuss in our current world, the poetry sometimes falls short at completely conveying their importance. Muñoz’s free verse reads at times like a hastily-written list in the Notes App, particularly when she uses her titles as driving forces for her entire thought train, exemplified in “Don’t Call Yourself A Feminist” and “Kill the Colonizer in You.” Lines such as “Kill the celebrity culture in you/The gender bias in you/The U.S. President in you/For God’s sake, the Epstein in you” follow from the title “Kill the Colonizer in You,” but don’t fully feel like poetry, even with the variety of forms poetry can take. Although their subject material is pressing and topical, these poems almost turn these topics into things to cross off of a list, rather than situations and events that should be handled with care. Also, if someone were to have “the Epstein” in them, that would be indicative of a much larger and more serious problem (along with a prison sentence)—not something one can simply “kill off”. While understandable to call out the hypocrisy and inherent biases people may hold, writing poems as almost “Gotcha!” moments lessens the effects that said poetry can then have on people. In addition, it’s interesting to note that the major overarching theme of Matriarchy in the collection isn’t fully adhered to when considering poems Muñoz writes about herself and her partner. Her poetry surrounding the idea of machismo focuses on the idea of community building to bring down the patriarchy; however, the majority of the poems written about her husband have no relevance. She speaks on her relationship with her husband in poems like “Devour” and “This is Not a Religious Poem, but It Is One of Devotion,” poems that focus more on the sexual relationship and desire shared between her and her husband. Of course, sex is an instrument of liberation, yet writing a collection of poetry centered on the dismantling of patriarchy and striving for a matriarchal world in addition to writing poems about the rough sex she has with her husband creates a perplexing juxtaposition. Does the institution of marriage and, in this case, heteronormativity, stop people from viewing their own partnership as a furthering of patriarchal systems, no matter how hard they’re trying to change them? There can be many answers and critiques to this question, yet acknowledging the role of the patriarchy within heteronormative relationships is the first step in solving the root of this deeper problem and Muñoz does not address or acknowledge this step. However, her focus on feminism saves this oversight due to how much she wants this equality for women all around the world. Her passion for social justice shines throughout this collection, even though some of her poems may not convey the delicacy needed every time.
Ultimately, showcasing love in a time of unrest is what Matriarchy: Sacred Poems does best. Her poems are extremely apt for our current times and promote different ways of thinking about issues that have become almost sterilized. Using poetry as a form of political action is not new, but writing in such frank terms helps to convey the urgency that these issues deserve. However, sometimes her poetry can come off as almost mocking the politics she cares so deeply about through the flippant tone of some of her poems. Alongside the social justice lens, readers will be able to tell how much love and appreciation Muñoz has for her family, community, and the world that she lives in through the care and thought put into the recollection of her old memories and clarity she has of new memories. Reading Matriarchy allows readers a glimpse into the connectivity and power of mothers around the world, united by the love they have for their children, and hope that they can grow up in worlds better than theirs.
Briana Muñoz is a writer from Southern California. Born and raised in San Diego, Briana attended her mother’s Mexican folklore dance classes and on ranches, where her father trained horses. She is the author of Loose Lips (Prickly Pear Publishing 2019) and Everything is Returned to the Soil/Todo vuelve a la tierra (FlowerSong Press, 2021). Her work has been published in Dryland, the Bravura Literary Journal, LA BLOGA, and in the Oakland Arts Review, among others.
Matriarchy: Sacred Poems can be purchased here.
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