November 28, 2020

Breathe In All Directions

I dig into earth with wet hands

wanting a bridge to the sun

to appear open & thickly peopled

by the happy ancestors of ceremony:

grandmothers whose essence is essential

cornsilken, resplendent, nurturing, benevolent

grand uncles flamboyant trans & passing as wolf

night heron, river valley, milky way

strong sisters of the light, engaged in natural love

brothers sharing brilliant swales of yarn

as they knit & admire the vein patterns

which connect every being at their luminous core

mineral musics swoop on arcs, every lilt attended,

a drifting dance of spider silk twisting beech leaves

breathing upon currents of indivisible presence

all of us

emerged

from the earth—

the angels are future seeds come visiting

gay aura so sweet & gregarious, indelible power

of life calling life into momentary grace

that is co-bestowed thanksgiving ceremony:

awakening, alive, together, vaulted kin

manifest in sensations sans language

only touching living ground, the whole of her

giving itself to her, she who is you, me, we, us, all

the caressing air, sounds of many names passed

ritual moments enacted again it is true:

this is never not now, already gone

& still arriving, so touch my face for real

while the moon is full tonight, yesterday

tomorrow

Open

space all around

Out

at the end of breath

In

boundaryless body

Between

passions & grief

Thank you Indigenous, Black & not-White folks

for voting & offering hope to the world again-again-again.

We give unending gratitude for your dreaming courage.

Your resiliency & organizing made it happen.

May we rise together for the weal of all.

POEM BY
Qayyum Johnson
ARTWORK BY SUIKO MCCALL

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