On the Trail of the Wild Feminine
Nancy Lankston
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
~Angi Sullins
@angisullins
Artist unknown
“You are a story the
ocean is telling
the sky
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
daughter
mother
sister
wife
worker
healer
helper
friend
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”
~Angi Sullins
WITCHLIGHT album
💗
Art: The Energy of Me
by Nancy Lankston
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.
~Ang Sullins
www.angisullins.com
when they want to
control you
they do not come
with shackles
made of iron
they come instead
with cages made
of shame and story
like the one
about the woman
who earned crisis
for her curiosity
so tempted by a life
of wisdom and independence
she caused the downfall
of all civilization
women are dangerous
says the shame story of Eve
they cannot
be trusted and
should not
trust themselves
give a woman
free choice and
she’ll eat the fruit
tempt the man
enrage the god
she’ll destroy us all
with her mad desire
to know
to discover
to understand
her self
her world
her maker
give a woman any freedom
and she’ll follow
her curiosity
shape her
own story
seek truth beyond
the dictates
of order and obedience
she will wreck
your carefully controlled mandates
your reign of tightness
she will unmake
your holy wars
of right and wrong
and infuse the realm with
choice and instinct
empathy outranking rules
creativity eclipsing war
sovereignty subsuming
blind servitude
when you want to know
like Eve
when you have a taste
for truth
and a hunger for wisdom
you have to question
the stories
test the facts
rattle the cage
who profits from you
believing a lie?
who benefits because you
believe you are both
cause and curse?
they have tried
to burn you
with their shame
strip you
violate you
shrink you
silence you
but they could not break
your phoenix spirit
its fierce heat
will melt old regimes
and enflame a generation
who will not settle
for smallness
for submission
for shame
sink your self into
the feathered
red sleeve
of your ancestors
and rise, woman
rise again
for you are
Persephone’s Daughter
Lilith’s lover
Eve’s heir
find the truth
eat the fruit
unmask the myth
let it burn
~Angi Sullins
🔥
Poet: www.AngiSullins.com
Painter: www.tsenov-art.com