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| The Women Gather The women gather because it is not unusual to seek comfort in our hours of stress a man must be buried It is not unusual that the old bury the young though it is an abomination It is not strange that the unwise and the ungentle carry the banner of humaneness though it is a castration of the spirit It no longer shatters the intellect that those who make war call themselves diplomats we are no longer surprised that the unfaithful pray loudest every sunday in every church and sometimes in rooms facing east though it is a sin and a shame So how do we judge a man most of us love from our need to love not because we find someone deserving most of us forgive because we have trespassed not because we are magnanimous most of us comfort because we need comforting our ancient rituals demand that we give what we hope to receive And how do we judge a man we learn to greet when meeting to cry when parting and to soften our words at times of stress the women gather with cloth and ointment their busy hands bowing to laws that decree willows shall stand swaying but unbroken against even the determined wind of death we judge a man by his dreams, not alone his deeds we judge a man by his intent, not alone his shortcomings we judge a man because it is not unusual to know him through those who love him the women gather strangers to each other because they have loved a man it is not unusual to sift through ashes and find an unburnt picture. The December of My Springs In the december of my springs i long for the days i shall somehow have free from children and dinners and people I have grown stale with this time i think i'll face love with my heart instead of my glands some say we are responsible for those we love; others know we are responsible for those who love us so i sit waiting for a fresh thought to stir the atmosphere i'm glad i'm not iron, else i would be burned by now. Housecleaning I always liked housecleaning even as a child I dug straightening cabinets putting new paper on shelves washing the refrigerator inside out and unfortunately this habit has carried over and I find I must now remove you from my life. |
Revolutionary Dreams I used to dream militant dreams of taking over america to show these white folks how it should be done I used to dream radical dreams of blowing everyone away with my perceptive powers of correct analysis I even used to think I'd be the one to stop the riot and negotiate the peace then I awoke and dug that if I dreamed natural dreams of being a natural woman doing what a woman does when she's natural I would have a revolution. Luxury I suppose living in a materialistic society luxury to some would be having more than what you need living in an electronic age seeing the whole world by pushing a button the nth degree might perhaps be adequately represented by having someone there to push the buttons for you I have thought if only I could become rich and famous I would live luxuriously in new york knowing famous people eating in expensive restaurants calling long distance anytime I want but you held me one evening and now I know the ultimate luxury of your love. A Very Simple Wish (excerpt) twice in our lives we need direction when we are young and innocent when we are old and cynical but since the old refused to discipline us we now refuse to discipline them which is a contemptuous way for us to respond to each other I'm always surprised that it's easier to stick a gun in someone's face or a knife in someone's back than to touch skin to skin anyone whom we like I should imagine if nature holds true one day we will lose our hands since we do no work nor make any love if nature holds true we shall all lose our eyes since we cannot even now distinguish the good from the evil I should imagine we shall lose our souls since we have so blatantly put them up for sale and glutted the marketplace thereby depressing the price I've a mind to build a new world want to play
from The Women And The Men |
| Love: Is a Human Condition (excerpt) An amoeba is lucky it's so small . . .else its narcissism would lead to war . . . since self-love seems so frequently to lead to self-righteousness . . . The night loves the stars as they play about the Darkness . . . the day loves the light caressing the sun . . .We love . . . those who do . . .because we live in a world requiring light and Darkness . . . partnership and solitude . . .sameness and difference . . .the familiar and the unknown. . . We love because it's the only true adventure . . . I'm glad I'm not an amoeba . . . there must be more to all our lives than ourselves . . . and our ability to do more of the same . . . Eagles (a poem for Lisa) Eagles are a majestic species . . . living in the thin searing air building nests on precipitous ledges . . . they are endangered . . . but unafraid . . . An eagle's nest is an inverted dimple . . . made of ready smiles . . .unbleached saris . . . available arms . . . and clean soap smells . . .to withstand all . . . elements Nestled in the chocolate chaos . . . destined to become: roller skaters submarine eaters telephone talkers people are improperly imprinted ducklings . . . Eagles perched . . . on those precipitous ledges . . . insist upon teaching . . .the young . . . to fly . . |
Giovanni Biographic Sketch
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