when we say Black Lives Matter

when we say Black Lives Matter

we are saying three words

that carry the weight of hundreds of years 

of pain and oppression

of strength and perseverance

between them

when we say Black Lives Matter

we are recognizing a dark history

too often covered up

and forcing it into the light

a history we can choose to stop repeating

but only if we fight for a better future

when we say Black Lives Matter

we are saying that black people

deserve respect, safety, and love

that they are needed, beautiful, and valued

that they are worth protecting

and admitting that we haven't always protected them

"Red"

Red is a powerful color.
I like wearing it,
especially on Monday.

- my grandmother

9/20/2020

upgrade, mirror, revelation

One reason I wanted a nicer wheelchair,
one of many, the smallest reason really,

is that in a basic chair with my leg up, 

it looks temporary

and that leads to misunderstandings.

"Poor thing, you broke your leg."

No. I obliterated my leg three years ago.

There's a difference.

This isn't temporary.

In front of me: a full-length mirror.

My elbows on the armrests.

I look at myself and thought

"I am a kid in 

a (real) wheelchair

and will be, off and on,

for the rest of my life."

And that's all it took,

an upgrade and a big mirror for

a revelation.

About time, I suppose.

Caught By Time

Paused.

sea glass in the sun

a place

a breath

out of time

feel the roar

the rhythm

hear the voices of 

souls lost to the ocean

so long ago it has become

their home

sink your toes into the sand

dig your fingers in

brace yourself

the cold will hit

and it will shock your

system to its core

it will run fingers

you can't catch

along your skin

to say hello

the only way it can

water

liquid ice

caught by time

for a moment

Paused.

Photo source uncertain due to the abundance of reposts. I believe it was originally uploaded by @pennyyfanee on Tumblr years ago. I found it reposted to Instagram with comments on @bosoftumblr.

"I have all these things"

I have all these things
sitting there
waiting to be read.

- my grandmother

8/27/2020

Quakers find peace and power in silence

Quakers find peace and power in silence

do not mistake this silence for 

complacency over the broken status quo and state of affairs

we will march beside you

and hold our signs high

we may be pacifists

(but fighting can look like many different things)

Quakers find peace and power in silence

we feel Light in that silence

Light we know is inside each every beautiful soul on Earth

Light we are always open to share

i only think of you at 2am

which might not be what you want to hear

how to capture the beauty of a flower

collage created by me
painting by Odilon Redon taken from a Sotheby's magazine

snap a picture, make sure the colors are bright

a sketch of any medium will do, be sure to show how the petals do curve so gently

write a song, a melancholy melody of how you know spring will be gone too soon

cut a thousand flowers out of magazines and see what you get

sing it to the sky, rain or shine with flowers braided in your hair

write a poem, no not even an epic would be enough

press delicate petals between pages of old books you never read,

alas how they will tear as they dry and crumble in your hands

how to capture the beauty of a flower

the last stanza of 2019

the story begins with the
last lines of a poem
a cheerful set of words
I wrote to wrap up
2019 with a pretty bow

we're just along for the ride
driven by the beat of time
and in 2020?
you're gonna see me dancing

I wrote this, so sure that light was coming
before I knew I would need another surgery
before science once again
became a debate on the world stage
before the world fell apart

in the fear-
hidden in hordes of toilet paper
and scraps of cloth sewn together on dusty machines,
left untouched for years until we needed a way to help
the smallest hand, the lightest remark

to honor those taking their
last breaths on shared ventilators
and the ones who are missing sleep to stop this-
hiding in plain sight
are pieces of our humanity
we cannot afford to lose sight of

There was one thing
I guessed correctly, though not a prediction at all;
life is out of our control
we can enjoy happiness as it comes
we can try to help others find it
and we can recognize our sadness
but at the end of the day,
at the end of the year,
life
and death
are out of hands

and maybe that is the only way
we can be free enough to dance

*  *  *  *
Submitted to Ledbury Poetry Festival's collection of "Lockdown Poems."

notice

notice every muscle in your body all at once
empty your mind, make it a
crucible that melts the pain into
something you can spit out,
react only to the gravity pulling at your feet
destination irrelevant
purpose in each stride
size up the world and
n o t i c e