Sunday, June 19, 2016

Birthing Change in the World [Free Verse Version]



The world is pregnant with change

          swollen
          heavy-bellied with change
Deep into labor
         panting
pushing
nail-digging labor
But the labor is stalled
The change-baby stuck a-birthing

The world needs a midwife
          many midwives
          idea-midwives
          change-midwives
To ease the world into the best position
          to bring forth change

You can be a midwife
          unafraid to get your hands deep in the process
          manipulate the pressing-down head of change
You can be a doula
          a helper
          a holder
          in a sisterhood of change
Cradle the Earth gently
          hold her trembling legs
          encourage her
          You can do this!

The most difficult stage is right before birth
          the terrorists
          the crazy candidates
          the suicide bombings
Are all just contractions
          waves pushing positive change forward
          waves must be ridden
                             tamed
                             survived
          so they can propel the change-baby forward

At last change will crown
          the most painful stage of all

The midwives right in the thick of it
          hands covered in blood
          sticky with birth-fluid
          catching the change-idea as it bursts forth
          making sure it is still breathing
          making sure it survived
its long difficult passage
into existence
          ready to resuscitate it
                   breathe more life into its lungs
                   caress it briskly
                   use their hands to restart its heart.
Then the change-baby
          can take its first crying breath in this world
Then the change-midwife
          can place the change-idea
          back on the breast of Mother Earth
          handing it back
          to the millions of souls who birthed it
          now they can nourish it
          bring it into existence in their own lives
And everyone smiles
          laughs in delight
          cries a little bit
                   or a lot
          never forgetting the labor they went through
          to hold this change they have birthed.

Be a midwife of change
          bringing new ideas and change into the world
Be a doula
          encouraging and helping others
          through the throes of change
Be willing
          to bloody your hands
          and rend your heart and soul
          to bring forth the change
          the world desperately needs
to create.    

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Remember....


Forbidden Sorcery by Gabriele Negri (flickr) Creative Commons License

Remember
          who you once were
Wild
          not domesticated and living in boxes
Free
          not bound by chains of debt and obligation
Independent
          not serving so many others you have lost yourself
Strong
          not beaten down by life
Aware
          not mind-dulled by a constant stream of useless information

Primal
          in touch with the world around you
Tribal
          not living alone
          not feeling alone
          not fighting the world alone


Listen
          as the wind whispers in your ear
Hear
          the voices of your ancestors singing in your blood
Fight
          against those who will enslave you
Resist
          those who try to divide isolate you
Know
          that there is more to life than this
Find
          the ones who will stand at your back
Seek
          the primal knowledge that was once known by all
Answer
          the call of the Thornwood.