As a white, middle class female, history and society have labeled me an oppressor.
And the fact that I have come so far to face is that, by nature,
and by that I mean by the socialized conditioning of my white ancestors, I am.
An oppressor of the people, of the land, of myself.
The history of mainstream culture has deprived me of a connection with nature.
It is this social history that I tire with, that I struggle to accept.
See, but with this wisdom comes freedom,
a freedom to reject the path that society and history has paved for me
and to find my own, to find my own truths.
I am a conserver, and I have found nature to be a conserver too.
Traces of my roots and my life reach further than any town limits or cemetery stonewalls.
You can’t cover my spirit with foundation, eye shadow and lipstick.
It may hide death in my face, but it won’t beautify my spirit.
My soul needs no resting place.
It will continue on to live and breathe in the absence of my body,
which has only been a vessel.
I will not be confined.
I can not be confined, not by religion, not by my race, not by my class.
I will not be put in a box, not in life, and not in death.
Aug 12, 2011
Aug 12, 2011 at 4:43 AM UTC
Does it scare you that you will not be able to visit me when I am dead?
Are you afraid you will not know where to find me if you try and look?
Do you find it unsettling to think of me after I am no longer with you?
Don’t fear my passing. I will not be gone.
Don’t look for me. I will not be found in one place.
I am in the depths of your breath and the warmth of your skin.
You should not feel unsettled,
but rather peaceful, in knowing that you will never be alone.
You won’t need to keep a picture of me
or hoard my belongings in boxes. Those things are not me.
If you want to know me, know yourself.
If you want to remember me, remember yourself.
If you want to love me, love yourself.
Aug 12, 2011
Aug 12, 2011 at 4:38 AM UTC
Under the sun, you shine like the incarnation of youth
At nightfall you glow, like you just made love to the moon
You are elegance, you are patience, you are reflection, you are still
Your beauty shines from your inside out,
Reaching outward upward into the skies,
Your branches know no realm too high,
Your roots know no soils too deep
There are no limits to your courage
Under the sun
Your fruitful seeds spill out over your skin
You are open hands and generosity
You are selflessness
Under the moon
You are wisdom, enlightenment and truth
You are humility and grace
But your sacredness is undervalued at best, neglected and challenged
They raid you, from your insides out
Deep inside your mines and your waters so deep
Scavenging for a dollar
exploiting all they reap
******* the air right out of your lungs
You are exhaustion, you are bare
You are forgotten
Yet still your tides rise and fall with the moon
You are forgiveness, you are hopeful, you are inspiration
In your image I will teach my children to grow
Through your eyes, I will show them the world
With your hands I will build their home
Aug 11, 2011
Aug 11, 2011 at 8:00 PM UTC
I see the couples pass
I watch the couples argue
I see the couples laugh
And I watch the couples flirt
I see the couples
I see the couples see right through one another
I see he takes her for granted
And she picks a fight over the TV at night
I see he flirts with other girls
And she makes him dinner after work
I see they think they love each other
And maybe you see they do
But I see the way she looks at him
Is not how I look at you
I see the way he holds her close
Is not how you hold me through the night
I see the couples holding hands
And I see them sharing meals
But do they share their dreams
And their deepest fears?
Do they share their flaws
And their greatest selves?
Because you make me want to be
The partner I didn’t know I was
The woman I am
The mother I want to be
The person I will become
I see the couples
I see the couples see right through one another
Aug 11, 2011
Aug 11, 2011 at 6:24 PM UTC
If I had you here
Just for a day
I’d turn that day away
Because I wouldn’t want to see your face
then watch it walk away
If I had you here
Just for a day
I’d make a deal with God
To somehow let you stay
But what would I bargain with?
To keep you here
What would it be?
Not my soul.
It's bound to yours.
Not my smile
It’s no longer mine to give.
Not my warmth
For what would keep you close to me?
Not my voice
How else would I sing you to sleep?
If I had you here
Just for a day
I’d turn that day away
Because I wouldn’t want to feel your breath
Then feel the pain of it pulling away
Because if I had you here
Just for that day
That would be one hello too short
And one goodbye too long
But if that were one less goodbye
And a million more hellos
I would take every day
to show you that one lifetime with you is still
one day too short
Aug 11, 2011
Aug 11, 2011 at 6:13 PM UTC