Sleeping Goddess

Neither Woman nor Child,
she sleeps in the misty
light of myth, sleeps in-spite
of the din of mayhem, wars
of aggression and coercion
are being waged for her soul.
Awaken, dear goddess, awaken
and proclaim your own myth
and show us how to wage wars
of love and understanding.
Awaken in nubile wisdom,
teach us to value innocent hopes and spirits.
Share the lessons of your green dreams,
tender as the first buds. Can a salted tail
catch a bird? Can a talisman protect
us from our own evil? Can the codex
birth enlightened minds?
Rise goddess, like the butterfly, deceptively
new with the old soul of that which
has crawled upon the earth.
lm/2011

The words below are part of a long piece of writing. I find it interesting how they seem to mean something different taken from their context. The woman in the photos, from which I made the stamp for the mono print, is my grandmother who raised 7 children in the depths of the depression with a hard drinking husband who regularly beat her to unconsciousness. The story does have a happy ending. My grandfather got into one of the first AA programs in the Cleveland area and once he got sober, God love him, he stayed sober. He called my grandmother his Queen and spent the rest of this life making it up to her. So my little verse is fraught with meaning.


This is a photo I took years ago in Monterey. One of those moments when you are sure that the universe put something out there just for you. I could not believe my luck when this image crossed my path. Something like the perfect shot of the three ducks that you will find many posts back. Forgive me if I've posted this before, but you know I'm on a poster kick. I think it makes a great poster and I think I'm going to go have a big one made!

I've been thinking of our Canadian friend, Tony, who passed a while ago. I took this photo while driving through the beautiful Canadian country side that you must pass through to reach their town. We took the trip to visit him, knowing he was very ill, and he died the night of the day we left. Another blessing, he was lucid and in great spirits and we were able to enjoy his company one more time.

I'm thinking of assurance that there is wisdom and love enough among us. Based on personal experience, I am sure that peace, prosperity and justice for all is headed our way. But, also from personal experience, I'm guessing it might not look like I'm expecting it to look. I just need to be open and ready to embrace it. And I need to remember we have to share, to lift each other up. Pay attention to each other, respect each other. In the meantime, I am remembering my grandmother, who not only survived, she thrived.