"Daughter of the Patriarchy"
Born knowing
all the secrets of creation
embedded in our wombs and bones.

This sacred connection
soon severed, traded
for the safety of belonging
in a society that values our silence
our obedience and our smallness

In our bodies we remember
the violence robbing us of wild expression
betrayal stripping us of sisterhood
cages that became our new normal,
though they aren’t normal.

Our wildness was suppressed
but it can never be extinguished
with our connection to the mother
calling us home, again and again.

Our wisdom heals
our belonging is eternal
to ourselves, each other, and to it all

So this brave daughter,
waiting to be saved
cared for by forces who oppress
sacrifices herself to make space
for the wild woman within.

Answering to no one,
but for the whispers sounding louder inside.
Coming to save herself
she emerges.

"We Are All the Richer for This"
When we embrace the calling to an artful life
we agree to a contract
with the world beyond words.

A connection opens
to forces unseen
in unknown worlds
feelings and knowings
beyond the reach of human reason.

We reciprocate the gift of this magic
by pulling the beauty we see
into the world of language
of color and structure and form.

We do our best to capture
the essence of the un-capturable
infusing it with our unique interpretation
through words, strokes or notes.

Our side of the deal is doing our best
despite knowing we'll fall short
of the truth of these mysteries.
Yet we attempt forevermore
to come as close as we can.

And we are all the richer for it.