go now with sage in your heart let your very breath be the smudge stick that cleanses every dark thought every shame, every harsh circumstance
you are sweetgrass and pollen rose hips and hollyhock a living offering to She who walks the earth through you
She who stands in the center of your labyrinth soul burn hot breathe deep and become the incense of wild woman smoke rising from your fingertips to bless everything you touch
the stars speak your name the moon sings in your veins the selkies who swim through harbor and lagoon remember you with liquid eyes
come home to the timeless tide to the truth of you hidden like witchlight under your skin come home to your true story the one hidden like sunken treasure beneath who you think you are and who the world told you you could be
you are more than the roles you play for others and the ones you try on for yourself you are more than your fear more than your longing circumstances and pain
come away from the harsh dry land of limitation move away from the shoreline of approval the sharp rocks of fitting in will only bruise your luminous skin
lay down all you think you know abandon that habit of smallness relinquish the sting of bigness let what is unworthy drift out from you
feel
allow the waves of possibility to cradle your soul-drenched heart
float
on the current of ancestors those who burned and bled who gave all so you could embody what they could not so that you could become
more
spread your arms wide like hope and your legs wild like abandon feel your spine loosen with silk and starlight
you belong to She who holds the deep in her lap She is not afraid of the dark
She is the dark
and you are the pearl she is crafting from chaos and crisis look at you shine every bit of you treasure”
“i like my nativities with a side of heresy with midwives and mothers and empty mangers and full arms
i like wise women over wise men attending to bloody people born and crucified showing up in places church leaders won’t go
i like heralding feminist agendas and trouble and god’s good news which is kind of repetitive since they’re all the same thing
proper churches want proper nativities because women’s bodies are shameful whether bearing christ or just bare
and instead of silent nights i like loud protests because be silent is not a phrase about joy but about control
so give me a christmas without white supremacy and bright sexism where the story of a baby becomes a story of a woman and my nativity looks like god’s and not like man’s”
once upon a time before the shame and the sin you were a cartwheel hair flying in full tumble throwing yourself with mad delight into the arms of wind and spirit
once upon a time before the shame and the sin you were a starkeeper your wishes alone kept the stars aloft in a velvet sky of invitation and belonging
you knew the sylvan truth of fireflies and trailed their golden lantern path over silvered meadow into to the lullaby of fairyland
the moon was a grandmother from a tale you still remembered watching over your every move look! you said. Look! everywhere we go the moon follows us all the way home
once upon a time before the shame and the sin acorns were goblin hats trees were secret keepers clouds were sky puppets butterflies and honey bees were emissaries of otherwhere guarding the old stories adults had already forgotten to remember
once upon a time before the shame and the sin you moved through the world like it was your back yard elbows made of frolic knees made of wonder fingers and toes a whirl of color and possibility
your mind was full of neverland and your heart was full of Oz your body was still a playground and a confidant and a friend
remember her? she got lost somewhere between the shame and the sin but she’s still there cartwheel smile moonbeam soul fairy tale girl in love with her own life in love with you bawdy and soul
she’s still in there daring, brazen wild with possibility let’s go get her.