peace. love. seal the deal. – Miles
White and black cannot be found
in the ruins and valleys of a human face.
You’re the dust in a wrinkled rainbow,
whorled pallet of earth tones,
ginger, sorrel, burnt sienna.
Who called you “white,”
that disdain for shadows,
color of the fear of falling
through the prism of contradictions?
You are not white, you are oak,
apple wood and dandelion.
Make wine of yourself.
Make a barrel of your bones.
Acquire the flavor of your ancestors.
Who called you “black,”
that abstraction of a laughing tear?
You are not black, you have sown
sunset in your cheek furrows.
You are banyan, and mahogany,
kola nut and olive, cocoa bean of grief,
kinnikinnik of the sacred pipe.
You are the night.
Voracious love has dipped us both
in honey, meshed our dreams
in darkest cilia, netted our souls
like mushrooms in sweet loam,
the wild manure of one dragon.
Through innumerable pungent roots
the same juice bears us upward
into starlight.
🌠
Who Told You? by Alfred K. LaMotte
my heart hurts today
for this pain.
I feel great sorrow,
shattering grief,
love cracks me open,
allows me to feel this
hurricane of rage,
this fraction of our creation –
soul division.
for what we,
as human-kind,
have chosen to accept
within the soil of our borders,
our birthright is so much more.
we are each beloved.
we are royal, each and every one.
sadness sits on me,
a heavy fog,
as I drive,
wait,
pay,
that smarmy man
with the weird goatee,
wearing the faded Jack Daniels t-shirt,
I try to love him –
I humbly admit my failure today,
I promise to keep trying,
it is my only hope to change this world.
I return to my place in this universe,
the one I belong to for this moment –
I walk a mile quickly
my angst
mixing with grief
tears won’t stop
I walk this beach,
so familiar,
yet always new.
I pick up rocks,
I move from rocks,
to sand,
to benches.
I stand while the gulls float,
so easy,
so secure,
so assured,
so secure,
so loved,
so free.
As I watch
peace fills me…
I let go…
always a brutal struggle for this stubborn girl,
(I prefer to name that quality ‘determined’)
always, always, worth it.
trusting life is a ruthless business.
I choose to live,
I choose to feel,
I choose to open,
I choose to pay attention,
I choose to connect,
I choose to participate,
I choose to love,
ruthlessly.
What about you?
💞
AL
God grant you the eyes of heaven
to see each person’s divine belovedness
and so find joy.
God grant you a listening heart
to hear the cries of the silenced,
and so gain wisdom.
God grant you humility
that unburdened by yourself
you may be free.
God grant you courage
to enter the world’s dark wounds,
and so bring healing.
God grant you patience,
to know the strength of the long journey,
and so be given hope.
God grant you a heart of love,
to be moved to action,
and so receive deep peace.
God grant you God’s own spirit
to share in the healing of the world,
and so know God’s deep delight.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
life: acoustic & amplified 