Search This Blog

Sunday, May 31, 2015

You don't have to be good

”You do not have to be good,
Only to let the wild animal of your body love what it loves.”  -Mary Oliver

Listen to your body,
The body knows.
The grey purple crags
In the distance
Topped by golden sun
And white cliff faces
Listen to your cries.
Sentinel holds vigil by
Your chair.
Your black furry coat
laying across your lap
And favorite grey sweater
(the one with holes in it
and the A&F logo that you
picked from the trash when
those two college boys were moving out) wraps you in a
kind of coziness that you
didn't know you were seeking.
Bob Marley sings on the radio,
”No woman, no cry.”
I always thought he meant
”I don't need no woman;
I won't cry,”
But maybe its not an independence anthem?
Maybe its a song about
Compassion?
Is he saying, ”No, woman,
Don't cry?”
Perfect orange on the table next to me from my neighbors'
tree signifying springtime in
Phoenix.

I have been called
A Phoenix by more than one
person lately,
Not insignificantly.
Not least
of whom, my Mr. B.
I still love him, you know. Will always.
My counselor Barbara says you can love someone
With all your heart and
That still doesn't mean
That you are supposed
to be
With them

Grapefruit

Planted a succulent in the old teapot you gave me
It was never good for drinking tea out of
but I didn’t want to throw it away
Felt like throwing away a part of your
heart
that you had given to me
Feels good to have a thing growing now in its place
the thread of our lives
can keep growing
in a different dimension
as if things had been different and we stayed
together


I don’t wish you were still here
but sometimes I miss the grapefruit.


Bitter on my tongue


I’ll let the thorns on this succulent
be the grapefruit now.
Watch it grow to be reminded of how I am growing
and how, presumably
you are too.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Poetry Chapbook- available now! Uncaged: A Thousand Suns

Hi, you can now get my chapbook by sending $6 via Paypal to cravatica@gmail.com, or if you prefer to avoid Paypal I also have an online store (<<-- linked here, or go to mkt.square/uncaged) you can purchase from. This is a 32-page booklet, which will be printed on vellum paper and bound in heavy cardstock. Thanks for supporting my art!

I'll be selling these books in person at the Underground Publishers Convention at Lawn Gnome Books, on May 29th, 7:00pm-10:00pm. (located at 905 N 5th St, Phoenix, AZ 85004Come out and see me, get your book signed! Support local/Indie publishing. I'll have copies of my zine, Olly Olly Oxen Free, available for sale as well.



Becoming

So many things are becoming right now
At times I feel I can’t keep up
with the rapid flow of energy
that is creating
the things I have wanted for so long
but then I remember that I worked really hard to
get myself into this space
and that all things are flowing as they should
and in the right time

I’m booking the travels I have so longed for
creating books
of poems for real people to see
letting my light shine through those little
chasms
where brokenness used to reside.
No longer broken
But becoming.

Not wishing
But creating
Doing
for me, for my children.
I am alive
for the first time

In years.  

Monday, May 11, 2015

Moon Set, May

Part 9, Endings.

We fought. Not really a fight
but all night-discussing-things-that-were-hard-until the sun came up. 

Then he left, and we hadn't really resolved anything
ex
cept that we had. 

I was sad. sad sad sad sad. 

I have
learned that not everything I want
is for me. 
And that's
ok.

What I want to do is
dance with the people
who want to dance
with me.

I want to let my heart be
loved
and let it dance
out on my sleeve
with people who
appreciate
and will hold it like
the strong, fertile
offering
that it is. 

I want to hold my own
heart
like a seed. 
Plant it only in places
rich with sunlight
and abundant water.
Where the soil is plentiful with nutrients
to nurture it. 

I am surrounded by a family of people
who love me. 
and the love feels so enormous. It surrounds 
me, 
A beautiful rainbow cloud
bursting with fresh water.

What happened with ** needed to happen. 
I do not regret any of it. 

I hope he finds his way, 
but I am accepting 
if we don't cross paths
again
in a significant way. 
I'll be sad, but I have 
learned that not everything I want
is for me. 

and that's ok.
I want to protect
my sparrow-heart from 
those who will 
toss it in vinegar. 
and cover it with 
ashes. 

Endings are never really endings.
Death is only the beginning. 

I have 
learned that not everything I want
is for me. 
But there are always flowers. 
And oak trees. 
And coming home.