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.
“Tell your story. Shout it. Write it. Whisper it if you have to. But tell it. Some won’t understand it. Some will outright reject it. But many will thank you for it.
And then the most magical thing will happen. One by one, voices will start whispering, ‘Me, too.’ And your tribe will gather. And you will never feel alone again.”
“Your ancestors sent you here to change things, to disrupt things, to bring forward another way, another vision, a new light, a new way. You’ve been given an incredible opportunity.
Let your voice be heard, let your wisdom be known. Become aware of your gift, whatever it is. Let it be said that you knew your assignment. Let it be said that you completed your assignment, and that you lived boldly and without regret.”
The arts of women have been called the dark arts for too long, and they are the keys to infinity. Infinite form. Infinite being. Infinite life. The art of far sight. The art of inner knowing. The art of sign-reading. The art of deep feeling. The art of song and circles. The art of intuition. The art of frequency translation. The healing arts. The art of kitchen witchery. The art of communion. The art of sacred story weaving. The art of creation and manifestation. And others too wild to name.
”It is that holy poetry and singing we are after. We want powerful words and songs that can be heard underwater and over land. It is the wild singing we are after, our chance to use the wild language we are learning by heart under the sea. When a woman speaks her truth, fires up her intention and feeling, staying tight with the instinctive nature, she is singing, she is living in the wild breath-stream of the soul. To live this way is a cycle in itself, one meant to go on, go on, go on.”
A poem for our times from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes:
–When someone says, “We’re saying the same thing.” Say, “We are not saying the same thing.”
–When someone says, “Don’t question, just have faith.” Say, “I am questioning, vato, and I have supreme faith in what I think.”
–When someone says, “Don’t defy my authority.” Say, “There is a higher authority that I follow.”
–When someone says, “Your ideas are seductive.” Say, “No, my ideas are not seductive, they are substantial.”
–When someone says, “Your ideas are dangerous.” Say, “Yes, my ideas are dangerous, and why are you so afraid hombre o mujer? ”
–When it is said, “It’s just not done.” Say, “It will be done.”
–When it is said, “It is immature.” Say, “All life begins small and must be allowed to grow.”
–When it is said, “It’s not thought out.” Say, “It is well thought out.”
–When they say, “You’re over-reacting.” Say, “You’re under-reacting, vato.”
–When they say, “You’re being emotional.” Say, “Of course I have well placed emotions, and by the way, what happened to yours?”
–When they say, “You’re not making any sense.” Say, “I don’t make sense, I am the sense.”
–When they say, “I can’t understand you when you’re crying.” Say, “Make no mistake, I can weep and be fierce at the same time.”
–When they say, “I cant understand you when you’re being so angry.” Say. “You couldn’t hear me when I was being nice, or sweet or silent, either.”
–When someone says, “You’re missing the point.” Say, “I’m not missing the point, but you seem to be missing my point — What are you so afraid of?”
–When someone says, “You are breaking the rules.” Say, “Yes, I am breaking the rules.”
–When someone says, “That’s not practical.” Say, “It’s practically a done deal, thank you very much.”
–When it is said, “No one will do it, believe you, or follow it.” Say, “I will do it, I will believe in it, and in time, the world may well follow it.”
— When it is said, “No one wants to listen to that.” Say, “I know you have a hard time listening to that.”
–When it is said, “It’s a closed system, you cant change it.” Say, “I’m going to knock twice and if there is no answer, then I am going to blow the doors off that system and it will change.”
–When it is said, “They’ll ignore you.” Say, “They won’t ignore me and the hundreds of thousands who stand with me.”
–When they say, “It’s already been done.” Say, “It’s not been done well enough.”
— When they say, “It’s not yet time.” Say, “It’s way past time.”
–When they say, “It’s not the right day, right month, right year.” Tell them, “The right year was last year, and the right month was last month, and the right day was yesterday, and you’re running behind schedule, vato, and what in the name of God and all that is holy are you going to do about it?”
–When they say, “Who do you think you are?” — tell them … tell them who you are, and don’t hold back.
–When they say, “I put up with it, you’ll have to put up with it too.” Say, “No, no, no, no.”
–When they say, “I’ve suffered a long time and you’ll have to suffer too.” Say, “No, no, no, no.”
–When they say, “You’re an incorrigible, defiant, hard to get along with, unreasonable woman … ” Say, “Yes, yes, yes, yes …
and I have worse news for you yet — we are teaching our daughters, and our mothers, and our sisters … we are teaching our sons, and our fathers, and our brothers, to be just like us.”
