Rhapsody of Peace
Photo: The edge of the Dead Sea (2023)
Hello Good People,
I’m sending you abundant loving thoughts on this full moon in Virgo. May we release any perfectionist tendencies, and become the authors of peace.
“let us dream again, or for the very first time / as if the winds wanted it so, and where on our side / as if today was now, and we were able / begin right here right now / with your own two lips, breath and hands / wanting and knowing how to be.”
(Full poem in Catastrophic Molting, also available through the LA Public Library).
Peace is a provocative ideal for societies embroiled in war syndromes. Thich Naht Hanh was adamant that peace moves from the inside outward. For him, peace must begin within so that we can bring it into our families and society.
The pursuit of peace and justice is central to a good life, el buen vivir. Even my grandmother Reva was a devoted peace activist. In FBI documents and images I’ve found about about her, she brandishes a coquettish grin and balances a handmade peace sign on one hip. (If you like women’s history, check out my essay called “My Grandma Was A Radical.”)
Recently, a facilitator in a peace group asked everyone about our conceptions of homeland. “Where is your homeland?” she asked. “What was homeland for your parents and grandparents?” One of the participants said simply, “Planet Earth.” I agreed. We all have stories about our particular geographical trajectories, but, like Dr. King stated in his anti-war speeches, “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”
The stories we tell about homeland impact how we imagine belonging, safety, and our responsibilities to each other. Perpetual war is a death wish for people and living things. Imagine, instead, that there are enough space and resources for everyone. I will keep ringing my little bell for peace…
I came into being during a volatile period of change. This must have imprinted the desire for peace and justice in my DNA. When my mother was pregnant, she temporarily stayed with my grandparents and two older sisters so my father could volunteer with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) in Mississippi to support voter registration workers during Freedom Summer. When he arrived in August, my mother was five months pregnant. His first assignment was to help find Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Cheney , three voting rights workers who had been murdered by the klan and buried, side by side, face down in the Earth.
A half century later, I ended up writing about the enduring impact of Freedom Schools in two essays: “Do Our Lives Matter?: Poetry, Music, and Freedom School,” and “Good Troublemakers: Freedom School Servant Leaders as Changemakers” with Dr. Patricia Gonzalez.
As a child, I imagined patriarchy vanishing when we marched for justice, banging pots and pans chanting “out of the kitchens and into the streets!” I imagined our world becoming better for everyone along the way. I’ve admittedly become more and more non-conformist over time. (Speaking of which, you may enjoy this new Anthology of Non-Conformism: Rebel Wom!ns Words, Ways, and Wonders edited by Epifania Amoo-Adare and Rapti Siriwardane-de Zoysa (1/1/24, ISBN 9781645043133). Join me in requesting a public copy for our local library. Thanks!)
I tangle with my feelings of powerless-and-power-full-ness all the time. My role as a parent has been to create a loving home, and to advocate for my children’s dreams and their entire generation. My role as a creative, and a teacher, demands healing and preparing myself to be courageous, facilitate learning, and activate the public imagination for change.
As the guide of my own life-force, I’ve learned that rest isn’t a luxury. Nor is meditation or caring for one’s physical and emotional health. It’s hypocritical to demand social change in the world without seeking balance and peace inside oneself. These aims are interconnected.
Last week, in my writing practice, words spilled onto the page voicing frustration, anger, and grief. The war wages on. No one is safe. The words washed my mind clear. Eventually, an incantation arrived and named itself “rhapsody.”
filled with affection for peace / henna tattoo peace on my forehead / embroider peace on my tongue / paint peace on each fingernail in blue and yellow / buzz cut peace onto my scalp with lightning /// dye indigo peace into the threads of my clothing / stitch peace into the toes and heels of my socks / eyelash extensions flickering peace /// drink peace hot, or at room temperature / bake peace, broil it / taste peace / roll its everlasting flavor around in my mouth /// take a walk with peace / toss a ball to peace / play together all day long / surf the sea of peace with my cousins /// snuggle with peace / sleep beside peace, dreaming /// give peace a kiss / stand beneath the arch of peace and say a vow, no prenup / peace will have everything I am made of — in perpetuity
Photo: Women gathering to talk inside the Dead Sea.
At a time of chaos and conflict, I keep trying to conjure peace inside myself — as a starting point for change in the world. As a mother, I recall the peacefulness of nursing my children when they were infants, or falling asleep beside them when they were toddlers. I remember the sensation of floating in the Dead Sea beneath a light rain. The Dead Sea is a natural wonder. Its mint green color resembles the frozen icebergs off the Arctic, but these waters are soft and buoyant. Floating brings the peaceful feeling of belonging and being held by Planet Earth. This is how I wish to die, I thought. At peace. But now, this is how I wish to live. I want everyone to enjoy the warm feeling of belonging being stewards of our shared Earth.
For this full moon in Virgo, I wish you patience and access to an abundance of ways to cultivate peace. May we co-create new realities for ourselves, our families, and communities. Realities that are eager to be born.
March Readings
March 7 / Poetry Reading for Generational Healing, 6:30 pm, The Libros, 3422 North Broadway, Los Angeles
March 8 / Featured poet for the Global Women’s Open Mic with IWWG (online), and I’ll be leading a Writing Peace workshop during their August Conference.
Community Classes
WRITE YOUR STORY / New spaces are opening up in my ongoing WRITE YOUR STORY workshops this March. Contact info@creochangemakers.com for more information on participating.