“Oh, no, Mama! Loving is Hard!” Relationships are hard. And vital. Vital like our vital signs. And like pulse and heart rate and blood pressure, the conditions of a relationship can tell us the very essence of where we’re at, who we are, where we’re going. I’ve said that Relationships are crucial (on the AboutRead more
2019 street art saw animals everywhere. And it was not just the usual suspects like Sonny Sundancer, Marthalicia and Mr Prvrt anymore. No, it’s everywhere. And I think there are some very good reasons why… I’ve had cancer twice. The first time, I knew my life was messed up (there’s a book about it; youRead more
Twenty years ago, I set out to become a teacher of the literatures that have given me the most—meaning, clarity, purpose. I said I wanted to ensure that these important voices were heard and learned from. A year ago, I realized that a lot of emerging artists around me were also saying important things thatRead more
There’s a saying: “if you can hurt an animal, you can hurt a person.” That statement refers to the condition of the predator, not the prey, but I’m going to flip it for a moment. That predator sees no value in life. But what is the condition of the prey? For me, it’s not soRead more
Often we know more about the intangible than what surrounds us day in and day out. By virtue of reaching for what we desire, we study, and in studying an object it becomes intimate, an “other” part of ourselves that we need, perhaps one we are meant to search out. I believe it was AbbaRead more
The thing about creativity is that as soon as you start to create anything, take that first step, you become aware that you have no idea where you will end up, or what you’ll be holding when you emerge from that dark forest into the light. You make one gesture toward that glimmer of aRead more
All day you lay on my heart like a heavy green cloud over those wanton plains: Stretched out in a yawn of arms that hold all the living things that run In gold and green and a million oranges, splattered with blues you would not imagine live in plains. But they do, like grasshoppers theRead more
Our hushing in the night, the sill jar-cracked just a sliver To let the whispers escape like so many breezes into the night Dispersed into leaves holding secrets. We handle roars so loud no one knows what they say, And everyone around us closes their eyes light-tight to keep out the heat, Covering their earsRead more
There was in the sky a light: purple and red bled out into blacks like A mouth just parting, eyes closed, one waited With baited Breath to see what emerged: a pain, a pleasure, a plead, a protest. And the words were like wind that tears at old weeds and carries them home, Leaving theRead more
With thanks to Octavia Butler. Lionesses all—we know: Lonely we race savanna down For blood for meat For ourselves to be found in a kill of love. He hunts, too, for her, but it’s not the same. Protect Provide Profess And thank goddess. And yet, still it is not the hunt of love lioness makes:Read more
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