We Are In Love

Amanda Gorman, with her eloquence, assurance, freshness—and her words—captured our hearts. And now, we’re in love. The whole nation, and I dare say, those watching the Inauguration of our 46^th President, Joe Biden and Vice President, Kamala Harris from around the globe are utterly smitten with this young poet.

At our house, it was all eyes and ears intent on her face and her message. Our backs inched forward, tears flowed, and hope filled our hearts. This National Youth Poet Laureate reminded us of who we say we are. She shined a light on who we’ve shown ourselves to be and declared who we need to strive to be.

To youngsters who may have had no interest in poetry or writing poems, she demonstrated the power of the pen and mastery in delivering one’s words with such clarity and force. For we oldsters, Amanda’s skillful, impassioned recitation renewed our faith that young Americans can and will prevail.

In that five-minute recitation, Amanda Gorman galvanized the country and thrust poetry into the limelight. We’re ready to show her we ARE “brave enough to see the light/brave enough to BE the light.”

~ xoA ~

PS: To experience more of the sunshine of Amanda, see her recite her poem “The Miracle of Morning”. Thanks to my friend Millie McCoo for sharing this with me.

 Photo: Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

The 2021 MLK National Day of Service

"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." Martin Luther King, Jr.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s national birthday holiday, for 26 years Americans have stepped up for the MLK National Day of Service, “a day on, not a day off.” Celebrated the third Monday in January, this is the day many citizens make time to volunteer to strengthen their communities through service.

 

For some, this is a continuation of the commitment they have to improving the lives of fellow Americans. They may have spent the year mentoring a young person, delivering meals to the elderly, or taking responsibility for cleaning up a public space.

 

Making time to volunteer for the 2021 MLK Day of Service is a great way to engage with your community while honoring the legacy of Dr. King. Volunteer service is a powerful tool that builds strong communities and it is needed now more than ever. Whatever you do, no matter how small, will make a great difference to someone in need.

 

It was my honor to take part in a celebration of Dr. King and his legacy, hosted by Frances Klippel, that will air over KXCR 90.7 radio in Florence, Oregon on January 18^th at 4pm PST. The program highlights the service of individuals and community outreach organizations that help people in crisis—homeless and transitional students, families, and adults and victims of sexual or elder abuse and other hardships. Songs and writings by high school students and renditions of poetry relevant to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s messages, the necessity of equality, social justice, and lifting people from poverty, round out the program.

 

COVID-19 has had an impact on all of our lives, but there are still many ways to serve, it may just look a little different. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve witnessed people’s creativity and ingenuity as they came up with ways to get through the months of quarantine. That energy can be used to help fill a need in your community. How can you get out there (or even stay inside!) and serve?

 

~ xoA ~ 

Photo by Judy McDole

Where were you on January 6th?

A pleasant January morning with a soak in our hot tub followed by a leisurely breakfast rapidly turned ugly. Afternoon in Washington DC, the undeterred rampage by thousands of insurrectionists on the U.S. Capitol building and democracy unfolded right before our eyes. It was a window into way too much of America.

An unruly mob—rioters who represented nearly half of American voters—paraded through the Rotunda waving Trump flags, confederate flags, white supremacy flags. Fired up by the President at a pre-march rally, they converged on the Capitol with a purpose: to disrupt, take over, create chaos, and instill fear. 

And they did. Our stomachs roiled as we witnessed the scene. We feared for the Senators, Representatives, and their staff, for all the building’s government workers. And, we feared for the government itself as we watched this mob’s brand of “patriotism”, their absolute assault on democracy.

With the passage of a few days, we’ve learned of the five deaths that occurred on the Capitol grounds and the arrest of a number of rioters. We’ve heard the false-sounding remorse of a few folks who “made a bad decision” by being there.

But this should be far from finished. Relentless investigation, diligent apprehension, and vigorous prosecution must take place. And the President must go.

We Americans horrified, saddened and angered by the actions of some of our fellow countrymen and women on January 6^th must do something, too. We have to stand our ground that these behaviors and attitudes are intolerable. Reluctant to “cause a problem” or create discomfort, we silence ourselves, and that silence is taken for agreement. We need to muster the courage to speak up.

We are obliged to press our government representatives who have upheld and joined in perpetuating the lies that incited these rioters and have made a mockery of democracy. We have to hold them accountable until we can vote them out.

Though these are difficult and scary times, we must persevere. As Maya Angelou said, “Having courage doesn’t mean that we are unafraid. Having courage and showing courage mean we face our fears…” We must have the courage to speak out and to hold those perverse Representatives’ and Senators’ feet to the fire and not let the embers of what we saw, felt, and experienced die out.

~ xoA ~

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

 

Moving Onward - 2021

                    

Photo by Bram Naus on Unsplash

Instead of toasting with champagne or watching the clock strike midnight around the globe, I snored the New Year in. Not that I wasn’t interested! I’ve been hoping for and anticipating 2021 since last March when the world went upside down. But when, as my dad would say, “it’s time to go to SleepyTown,” I have to give in and turn in.

But on awakening this morning I thought about The DayMaker.

I wrote no blog posts in 2020, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t writing. In November of 2019, we lost my sister to cancer. Along with the tears and pain as 2020 began, grief poems and journal entries issued forth by the dozens. Then COVID-19 struck, and in addition to trying to navigate the new parameters and safety protocols, I began a Corona Virus Journal, recording my account of what life looked like for me during this time. And that included several poems as well.

Then the Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, and I began to work on a sheaf of poems around racial justice, equality, and ending police brutality. Along with seven other poets and writers, we put together an anthology inspired by the board-up artwork and photography of the Black Lives Matter protests from around the United States. The title of this stunningly beautiful volume is ENOUGH "Say Their Names..." Messages from Ground Zero to the WORLD. 

Paradoxically, 2020 both hustled along and crawled at a snail’s pace. Travel was curtailed and many activities closed to us, but I look back now and recall my busy-ness and many positive experiences. They begin with the self-care webinar my daughter Asila and I designed and presented several times with my other daughter Amina's assistance. There was the online writing class I began with the encouragement of the North Bend Public Library and continued on my own.

I'm wading through, reading and learning tons about American history and social justice. And, reading contemporary poets whose riveting styles and words illuminate the events of our times.

Through the technology of Zoom, a variety of classes, lectures, readings, and meetings filled my calendar and my need to be “among” people and talk about ideas and feelings. I became more familiar with meditation and learned about and practiced a deeper relaxation Yoga Nidra.

This past week, I had to figure out how to update my website, my hand forced by GoDaddy! But, it’s done and I'm feeling much more competent.

We survived a year like no other, full of challenges and sorrows, joys and blessings, learning, re-learning, and unlearning.  And while many of the stressors are still here, some of the most relentless have gone, or will soon be behind us. We have lots to look forward to and important work to do in 2021.

Starting now, as we embark on this new year,  let’s move onward, together.

~ xoA ~