How do you think our angels feel about our tragedies? The angels are cursed Because all they want to do is wipe away our tears and comfort us to sleep, Make us glasses of hot milk and read us bedtime stories. But they are on the other side of a glass wall from us, frozen…
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Places that are safe And places that are sacred Are harder to find nowadays You have to look for little cracks of light And pry them open against the darkness. My safe space is in your smile, dear friend, It’s in the sound of my husband’s snore, In the silence of our church group’s living…
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When shooters strike, we line up around the block to give blood. When a rape victim can’t get justice, her friends and family stand beside her with all the love in their bodies. When gender nonconforming people are hassled in bathrooms, we share viral videos of support. When women are burned in honor killings, we…
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Belief in yourself is easy to lose, Many people lose it under the couch cushions, Or in the bottom of their junk drawers. Some people keep it in their pockets, Which is much better, But really the best place to store belief is inside yourself, In a quiet garden in the center of your soul,…
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A dog waiting for his master outside the bakery, Has a kind, patient expression on his face. But I can see how every moment alone hurts him, The rigid anxiety, the taut expectation. Sometimes I think we too are dogs, Waiting for something, But unlike the dog who has memorized the face and scent of…
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A long time ago, before I was born, My soul seems to remember Walking over long green hills in a bath of breeze and sun, The dust made sparkling clouds at my feet, And my fingers on my harp were quick, As I sang stories at the crossroad kitchens, For tasty bread and warm blankets.…
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We give our hearts to each other all the time, And do we take care of them? No. Hearts end up at the bottom of purses, poked by pens, dusty and sticky with discarded lozenges. Hearts get forgotten in the back of sock drawers, And sometimes people play hackeysack with them! We hate the people…
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A warrior whose shield was bright with light, Went into the darkness and was not dismayed, Her heart only burned hotter With its piercing flame She fought for the small souls caught in the great tides, Holding their heads above the water and choking on salt, And when the wave retreated she would go to…
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I measure my life out in cups of tea and moments of starlight. Others may measure me in dollars or years or pounds, But my real metrics don’t climb like a mountain slope, They leap like dolphins in the moonlight, Or they jump like leaves in an autumn storm. My life is not punctuated by…
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A baby was growing inside a tree in the center of the forest, Birch bark skin and moss green hair, Curled in a knothole as nice as you please, Waiting for spring and listening to the rustling of mother’s leaves. A fox came playing by, red jumping fun, And yipped at the baby, “Hey! That’s…
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