Thursday, April 7, 2016

I'm in the mood for


Lucille Clifton. 



listen,
you a wonder.
you a city
of a woman.
you got a geography
of your own.
listen,
somebody need a map
to understand you.
somebody need directions
to move around you.
listen,
woman,
you not a noplace
anonymous
girl;
mister with his hands on you
he got his hands on
some
damn
body! 








Thank you, Lori, for sending me this poem! Lori Brozek and Jeneva Burroughs Stone and I had the best conversation the other day about what it means to be a middle-aged woman. We talked about bodies and sex and things both licit and illict. We talked about inhabiting fully our own. All three of us are writers, and all three of us are mothers of young adults with disabilities. Both Lori and Jeneva, as well as my friends Erika and Alicia, work on and put out a beautiful literary journal called Pentimento. You should check it out sometime. Buy a subscription. Support them and people with disabilities and artists with disabilities. Here's the link: 

8 comments:

  1. Oooo, love this! She is gorgeous...

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  2. Powerful poem.
    Thanks for Pentimento

    To quote them - Pentiments

    We are all asked to do more than we can do.

    Madeline L'Engle

    So true.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not one for favorite quotes and have never had one but I just read this too and everything inside of me relaxed, opened, said YES and wanted to cry. I may have one now.

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  3. Oh Lucille-and you Elizabeth.

    XXXXXX Beth

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  4. Oh Lucille-and you Elizabeth.

    XXXXXX Beth

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  5. Yowza! What a fantastic poem (and the picture is glorious too). Thank you for sharing this. Love, love, love.

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  6. I love that pic! Thanks for the plug xoxo

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  7. I do love this poem but I'm now in love with Pentimento. Thank you for putting them on my radar. The title alone got me.

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