when no woman breaks

Photo:  "Rosa" used with gratitude and by permission of guest artist, Katherine Caldwell, aka Katie Swift.

i see

this:

—face of god

when no

woman     

breaks

      ~

when only

this hand    

of grace

& none

    must run

      ~

when      whether

she          has carried

sons

or   

water

her feet

—no longer      bound

her head

—held high      uncovered

she        will walk

her own       way

      ~

her back     

—undone

her mouth

—white fire

her hips

—wide

& full

of promise

what seems right may be wrong

Art "out where even the imperfect is perfect" used with gratitude to and permission of the artist, Bebe Butler.
Engage more of her work on her website, here.

What if being present to what is and following the flow of it is the way?  What if there is no one "right" way?  What if this way of being is the one thing we must learn?  What if all the details are nothing but distraction?

Read my article in response to an article by Xie Bangxiu on the teaching-learning pedagogy he calls "FEELS," the way, as he states, to "own wisdom."

fresh water wash me clean

    "Rain Dance" photo used with permission & with gratitude to the artist, Lynne Raspet.

i don't live 

in a neighborhood 

Ms.

he says      insisting

nothing happens 

on my street   

this thick   city

boy 

uniformed

scrubbed

polished

& sent to school

his black hair      stiffened

stands at attention

his head     is hurting 

(i am sure)

from too much

sitting still

     ~

i lean into

his round face 

willing words 

his imagination

—a phantom—

     ~

how many       of you 

have ever made 

mud pies

between     your toes   

a few hands       rise

—confessing 

actual play 

outside

go home      i say
turn on the hose 

make mud

they giggle

     ~

my toes          flex 

stretch their necks  

i am standing 

knee deep 

in rain water

this sky     wiping its eyes 

dim thunder     rumbling   

we     have all 

come outside 

waving—squawking birds 

converging     on a makeshift lake 

water      running to greet us

we wade in

     ~

a few fat drops

hit     shower us wet

—cold    clothes 

cling        barefoot toes

stomp 

splash

 sing in the street

—rain dance

 —glee club 

goose bumps  

     ~ 

i squat      squish mud 

between my toes 

shovel up a clump 

—oozing earth

fling it 

at the first    (unsuspecting)

one of us

a burst of laughter

—splat—

a flinched face

—splat—

an arched back

i got you!   

     ~

we are merciless 

     warriors      taking aim 

duck 

dive 

slip 

slide

run 

from each other 

like we     might really

die

in seconds 

      an hour passes 

      ~  

my breath 

comes fast

i am full 

of fun 

& covered 

in baking clay

     ~

lying down 

on long      green 

grass      in the gutter 

bent           under

this sudden stream

    fresh water 

—wash       me clean