Women Leading, All Colors, All Races

Northern snowbanks are
shaking
mother earth is quaking
continuous warnings
mudslides, floods
and fires
while Washington keeps pumping out liars.

Hush hush now children
we’ll hold you tight with our hugs
don’t look now babies
lest marauders grab you from us,
those robed and slick-suited thugs.

Hush hush now children
listen while we shield you as best we can
under the inky dark and starlit night
a band of SHEros approaches, we scan
the globe from celestial heights,
we are here, the goddess clan
we emerge with impenetrable force,

our warriors beside us. We are the colors of all races

we are the faces of all faces

we are red, yellow, black, and white

we are women and we are leading the fight.

There is No Difference: May Day Thoughts

 

 

 

Where did I find you

serendipitous soul?

A song from a time when hearts come piercing,

into each other,

calling from within

and without.

There is no difference.

 

What exchanges could be heard

from inside a child’s pumping ventricle?

A reaching beyond clocks and calendars, winding back again,

into each mother,

calling from within

and without.

There is no difference.

 

Are you a dandelion in an abandoned cement city block

or a well-tended perennial in stately bloom?

Roughened or refined youth surviving, planted in stages to persist throughout lifetimes,

into each father,

calling from within

and without.

There is no difference.

 

Discussion: Do you believe in reincarnation? What about simultaneity in time and space? Do you think life events are linked?  I have been so moved by the devastating news about the earthquake in Nepal, as well as  the death of  Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland. Also,  the passing of singer- songwriter, Ben E. King comes at a time when flowers are budding and blooming here in the US.  His song “Stand by Me” is  such a perfect anthem for this beginning of May, the season of Taurus. The symbol of love,  timelessness,  and bravery is so ageless in his beautiful lyrics. He will be missed along with those who perished in the earthquake. Again, the families and communities of under-represented youth are asking hard questions about “life on the streets.”

 It is  a time for healing, in the United States and around the world, as citizens come together and rally for justice.

What impresses me the most recently is how people gather together to help one another during times of crisis or social unrest. There is so much juxtaposition and inter-mingling with events. All families grieve. All families love.

 The above poem is my May Day (double meaning) snapshot of what I jotted down in my notebook. The themes seemed to be enmeshed-life, death, aging, new growth, many lives.  I wanted to explore the concept of inner and outer, ie “as a man thinketh” conversation. Do our inner lives reflect our outer lives? Are they separate? What about gender? Race? Class?

For me, writing a poem is like working on a collage. The parts come together to make a whole, even if they seem random or disconnected. Sometimes the message is about what is NOT said, or NOT shown.  I started thinking about young people around the world and all the challenges they face. Is a young person struggling to stay alive in Nepal any different from a young man in the ghetto of a disenfranchised US city? What about the mother and fathers who love their children?

Journal prompt: write a poem or do a collage about one theme. Try taking the theme of “time” or “soul.” Work from that word or theme and free write. Just see what happens. Then, try another piece combing two or more themes. Does it work?

For example, the top collage is about time and healing.

Do you feel writing is a way to heal?

 

Copyright © 2015 by Susan E. Rowland