I hadn’t posted in a while, and I had been posting frequently. Posting frequently is more in alignment with my joy; however, I have been extra busy–and I’m not even sure how time is organizing itself right now. As far as I am intuiting: The official start of the New Year, in terms of momentum, will come after this New Moon in Aquarius that also lines up with the Lunar New Year, 2023: the year of the Water Rabbit. I will be adding a lot of links today because there’s a lot of ground that I want to cover, and I’m not going to create all the content by myself. This might even become another post. First let’s get to the inspiration for today’s blog post. I am coming to the writing block today to bring you Maori artist Sofia Minson and the poet Fred Lamotte. A couple of weeks ago, in December, before the New Year, Fred and I had a brief exchange on email. I told him about how his poetry strikes me in a powerful way. I used different words. Words that were special, and just for him. As a result, I got a reply that I made his day (morning, as is was the first email he read that day). As you can imagine my elation, that I managed to make the day of this most wonderful poet. I’m going to post below one of his most well known poems, and for good reason:
My ancestry DNA results came in.
Just as I suspected, my great great grandfather was a monarch butterfly. Much of who I am is still wriggling under a stone. I am part larva, but part hummingbird too. There is dinosaur tar in my bone marrow. My golden hair sprang out of a meadow in Palestine.
Genghis Khan is my fourth cousin, but I didn’t get his dimples. My loins are loaded with banyan seeds from Sri Lanka, but I descended from Ravanna, not Ram. My uncle is a mastodon.
There are traces of white people in my saliva. 3.7 billion years ago I swirled in hydrogen dust, dreaming of a planet overgrown with lingams and yonis.
More recently, say 60,000 B.C. I walked on hairy paws across a land bridge joining Sweden to Botswana. I am the bastard of the sun and moon. I can no longer hide my heritage of raindrops and cougar scat.
My mud was molded with your grandmother’s tears. I was the brother who marched you to the sea and sold you. I was the merchant from Savannah and the cargo of blackness. I was the chain.
Admit it, you have wings, vast and crystal, like mine, like mine. You have sweat, dark and salty, like mine, like mine. You have secrets silently singing in your blood, like mine, like mine.
Don’t pretend that earth is not one family. Don’t pretend we never hung from the same branch. Don’t pretend we do not ripen on each other’s breath. Don’t pretend we didn’t come here to forgive.
Ancestry by Fred LaMotte for Earth Day
Here is the link for Sofia Minson’s artwork that is combined with Fred LaMotte’s poem.
About me:
I have been working closely with the Medicine Woman Centre for Shamanic and Esoteric Studies for several years, under the tutelage of FRANCHELLE OFSOSKÉ-WYBER. I completed my first Rite of the Six Moons (28 week journey) in July 2019–3 months after my first child was born. For the last year, I have been acting in my esteemed role as an elder for 2 of the 3 programs that I had completed since then, one of which was rich with astrology and magic in the Rite of the Twelve Celestial Regents. In 2023, I was chosen to serve as an elder for another year and support those who are currently embarking on their journeys. This is my lineage under the House of Bee.
This is just one of my shamanic traditions that I am a practitioner in. My other tradition I have also been studying and practicing formally for over 7 years. This is in the tradition of the Four Winds. The Q’ero people passed on their sacred knowledge to Alberto Villodo a former anthropologist. What I have in common with Alberto Villodo is my studies as an anthropology student in my early years, which was really guidance for me to walk the shamanic path. Therefore my “shamanic training” began with education at University while I was undergoing deep processes in my Mind/Body/Spirit. The culmination of my University education was my traveling around the world to locations that were specifically off limits for many travelers–due to boycotts/embargos/political reasons, and also safety reasons. It was then that I also traveled from temple to temple exploring deeply my calling.
I am not a shaman in a particular tradition but I have an assemblage of my own lineage and traditions; ancestry to the ancient Italian practices, began being revealed to me in 2016 when I visited my grandparents’ respective home villages. I have a strong connection with the Maori (and the Polynesian cultures) since I was a young teen (and my soul of course), and was guided eventually to working with Franchelle as an apprentice. Franchelle is a Medicine Woman who teaches within her mystery school where our teachers are the NZ First Light Essences that are created from our teacher plants. My work and studies continue, and my life grows in its magic. My soul, born in balsamic moon phase, is quite an ancient one. It wasn’t until I traveled to Kauai in 2011 that I received my full transmission of my new spiritual name and my surrender to living a life in complete guidance by Spirit. This was the same year that I began this blog. I have since ended up with many spiritual names. One is Tibetan Buddhist Dechen Llamo, given to me by a Lama, and another is Shamanic within the Four Winds, given as Sees Through Water.
Some of you may know that I am now a Doctor of Acupuncture with a specialization in Chinese herbal medicine (DAcCHM). For the next 3 years, I will be delving deeper into my training within Western herbs by the guidance of Rosemary Gladstar, the foremost leader in Western herbal medicine, and working on my land where I currently live with my little family in S. California.
The reason I have for my blog: while it changes over time, I would say that my earliest expression of my Spirit as a child was that of an artist. I was also a writer and a poet. In 2017 I published my first book. My goal is to publish another poetry book before the end of the year. Astrology is also a theme throughout my blog– it is, to quote Shakespeare, “this brave o’erhanging firmament.” Basically, I want to write and connect, and just be me. I want to share my art in whatever form it arises.
I hope those of you who are new followers have enjoyed this introduction. For those of you who have known me a while but don’t really know some of the details, here is your “more.” I truly hope and believe it’s a ‘given’ that you have enjoyed Fred LaMotte’s poem and Sofia Minson’s art. I will close with two of my favorite pieces of hers that I just discovered today. One is Midnight Rose, and the other is about her portraiture.
sisters find in each other, the silence a hug they meet and greet, they come and go we light candles for our families and gaze up at the moon let the earth be our messengers who passes on all the real votes, when we are heard by the river and we listen deeply to her. […]
But, I’m not done yet….! I plan on blogging into the New Year, 2023. I plan to publish my next poetry book in 2023–and I’m planning on including more highlights from people in my life and in my community. January 2023 is going to be the start a fun blogging New Year. I have lots of content to share; and I hope you all will be there! 🙂
The above poem I wrote in February of 2017. My favorite part of this poem is its ending.
My heart is touched by the sisters I meet in my life. I’m dedicating this poem’s reblog, and final Nano Poblano post, to blogger who I have met through blogging named Christy Birmingham-Reyes. She manages and writes a beautiful blog called When Women Inspire. Her blog is an excellent resource for women. She writes daily on issues that affect women, daily. Her blog has pertinent topics like single motherhood and addiction–signs to look out for and where to get help, blog posts about exercise and health, about how to become a successful entrepreneur/ business woman with practical articles about taxes. Her topics demonstrate a wide array of supports and inclusivity, such as family planning for LGBTQ+, while she also showcases and spotlights women who are serving through leadership, and making waves. One of my favorite recent articles is from guest blogger, Esther A. Armah, who writes about Unlearning Emotional Currency. Her blog provides hope and inspiration.
I hope you enjoyed my version of Nano Poblano, which is a version of NaBloPoMo, which is a National blog posting Month challenge. My theme for this year’s challenge was reBLOGathon, and I teamed up with Cheer Peppers year after year for Nano Poblano. You will see the logo again below. Click on it to see other team member’s posts. Thank you for those who stuck with me this whole long posting month, and I hope you are ready to see more of me in the days to come!
Psst… One of my inside reasons for doing the Nano Poblano challenge, started by Ra Avis, a truly AMAZING poet, it the tagline for the challenge: “Official Home of the World’s Least-Official November Blog Challenge” I’m very attracted to “unofficial-ness.” It appeals to my sensibilities and my desire to enjoy myself on the planet. I hope you join us next year.
In this life, we might be terrified. we might feel alone, though we are not. we must work every day to give ourselves enough space, to be who we are. however we are, “dark” or “light” or the huge gamut spanning between even if not one single person feels that what we offer is valuable, […]
Today’s reblog links back to a poem I wrote, about not being afraid to stand alone. I think this is a good reminder for all of us while the season is all about “coming together.” For so many this season bring a lot of pressure, loneliness, and oftentimes tremendous grief. However for others it’s a time to really express our happiness and our love with our friends, families and everyone in our lives. Truly the holidays are days when most people have off work–even though not all do.
Yesterday I took time for myself to really appreciate the moments in my life. There’s this beautiful quiet descending upon me. It’s far from depression and it feels like inner peace. I’m not even chasing after it either. It’s there when all the chasing runs its course. 🙂
I hope everyone who celebrates had a good Thanksgiving, for everyone else, I hope they had a good end to their week and a nice weekend ahead. This Tanka poem is my reblog for the day. I didn’t manage to post yesterday, but that doesn’t bother me too much. This is my makeup post. It’s the first time I didn’t complete the monthly challenge in the years that I participated, that I remember. I am slowing down my energy, anyways. It’s fabulous! I love this slowed down version, soaking up the sensory experiences, reflecting on more memories, being one with my life. I hope you enjoy.
When first I met her I needed a relationship that wouldn’t pursue me, in the usual way. I needed an intimacy that moved with me, as I moved. ~ She will not lead you to still waters, nor even ask you to take a drink. she doesn’t even care if you pursue her. She just […]
Welcome to my ReBlogathon for November. This is my blog celebration of 11 years of blogging! We kick it off here, today, as DAY 1. I have also joined forces once again with the most wonderful blogging pepper group in the world: Cheer Peppers. This month we will all blog for 30 days (for me it might be even more!). For me personally, I didn't have the time for a proper celebration in March when my blog turned 11, and then I "rebirthdayed" my blog in August 2022--Now, I finally get to celebrate: That's how celebration goes: Celebrate when you CAN!
This post is all about the publication of my first poetry book (2017)-- See the attached Reblog. At the time, I swore I would never write another. But, I think I shall 🙂
"Free verses" is a play on "free verse." It's the type of poetry that doesn't follow a format. Since my book is called "Art for Art" its only purpose is to share the heart in a format free fashion. In fact, The format is so free that it isn't even "free verse," it's "free verses." Like multiverses, universes-- the latin versus means "to turn." So maybe my poetry took "many turns" in sharing my heart. It certainly was an exploration, one that led to the birth of my wonderful daughter. But, you'd have to read it, to know it and see that. To feel it.
It's time to GO BACK and look at things anew...
I feel immense gratitude for everyone who was with me on this book journey, all my fellow bloggers who I love and connect with. I was absolutely not alone. Michael Mark and Ra Avis were ‘beyond words’ supportive and deserve special mentions. Another poet and marvelous human Kai Coggin inspired and supported me in this endeavor, too. I hosted a poem of Kai’s way back in 2014. You must absolutely read her poetry and check out her website. This was before Kai became ‘Big Big’ and she is an educator with a heart of gold. Go find her. In the post, in the comments, I elaborate on the cover art created by artist & friend, Debbie Graul. Ironically, words can not express the importance of the birth of a book, nor what such a book could foreshadow, foretell, or clear away room for in one’s life…
Write that book! It will open you up for more 🙂
Finally, for extra credit. There’s a little “nesting doll” link for my “blog post within the blog post” if you read my original 2017 post, where I end with crickets. Can you find that post? Comment about it if you dare.
It is no surprise to me that I am hearing crickets as I type this right now…
Cover Art by Debbie Graul, Cover Design by Ka Malana Praise for Art for Art Hello dear friends & welcome new followers! I am delighted to share with you that my 1st book of poetry is published and available. It’s available immediately at the CreateSpace eStore. It’ll be able at Amazon.com in 3-5 business days (now […]
This is my final blog post for the November Nano Poblano Challenge, and I’ve been blogging every day, all month! This was a challenge I didn’t think I’d take on with such a busy schedule, but alas, I did it! I’ll be linking all my blog posts here at the bottom. It’s also the day I’m going to be writing for Linda’s challenge, called, “Litebeing Chronicles Change Challenge,” which is going through to the end of the year. If you are interested in adding your blog to the challenge, go ahead and clink on the link above. She asked us to write about “our insights, ideas, and evolution.”
What I’ve noticed is I have a very hard time following prompts, be they writing prompts or any kind. I’m learning that prompts are big for bloggers and creative people; but, I’ve just never been really good at them. When I attempt one, I find my mind goes blank. Some would call this writer’s block, but I never considered myself a writer. I do enjoy writing poetry, but I prefer to write it without rhyme more often than not. This style is called free verse, and it’s completely legitimate poetry. Well, maybe one day I’ll try my hand at ever newer things. I know would love to, in a way, when the time is right. Especially when it seems like it will be fun!
My evolution: Since the pandemic, being in graduate school full time (and finishing up this term) and also taking care of my now-toddler at home full-time, I found that I can still meditate, stretch, exercise, and basically work on things like alleviating my chronic pain. I have solid knowledge about what is helpful for me to keep myself afloat during these days where we wonder what’s next. I’ve become comfortable with where I am in life, exactly as it is. My ambitions are pretty relaxed right now. I’ve lost the pregnancy weight; I’ve kept myself afloat, mostly positive, and hopeful when I needed it the most. I have a very small support network, but I am grateful for the few people I have in my life.
I have less resistance to the present moment.
I find life incredibly exciting, delicious, and full of opportunity. I also love blogging with all of you! I wish I had something deep to say, but I really don’t. I’m immersed in the ordinariness of life right now, of time management, of trying to squeeze out creativity where I can. I’m still in the middle of the pandemic, in my world. It’s still happening. The most important thing I do these days is keep my mind on the present moment. That said, I’m pleased with how the month went with Nano Poblano.
Here’s an easy to use guide/summation of my posts for this month:
This month I decided to review my images from my time in Cambodia. You can see those images here. The intention for my posts this time was to be random. As it turns out there were a few themes, travel:
*All throughout my posts are a lot of my photography. It’s not something I’m doing right now, but I have enjoyed sharing these images.
In the beginning of 2017, I published my first book of poetry. It’s available to purchase if you click on the link to your right of this text. I hope to publish another book someday. Although, I have no plans right now to do one.
“Never travel alone” Ka Malana Photography
I’ve also been listening to jazz a lot. I mean, a lot. Here’s an upbeat favorite of mine. I read that Lee Morgan did the trumpet on this one. Benny Golson does the tenor sax. That trumpet and sax really have “voice.” What I love about jazz is how the music it builds and flows. I love the personality of the instruments. Then the piano, Bobby Timmons, just makes me smile. How could I not smile when listening to this track? That’s just me. Art Blakey on the drums, and Jymie Merritt on the bass, and the deal is sealed.
We’ve got a full moon upon us, as an eclipse, this lunation joins the a wide 11 degree angle to the North Node in Gemini. Tis the season for communicatin’ while the Sun anchors in the sign of Sagittarius (tropical zodiac). While we are all in our local neighborhoods (Gemini) for the most part, due to the pandemic, the travel desire of the Sun is strong. So we can use a few “mental vacations” or some light-hearted fun! How about a card game with your housemates? No, I’m not talking about “online.” Take some time to unplug from your tech, even if it’s only 10 min you wouldn’t have otherwise, unless you set the intention.
An eclipse in the mutable signs lends for more changeability and reorientation. Maybe you’ve thought of moving your furniture into a different configuration, or maybe you want to give your sister or brother a call and see what changes they are up to, maybe their relationships are changing, breakups and back-together-agains and they’d like to chat in your ear? What new ways have you found to navigate in your living spaces during this pandemic? You might want to embrace those Sagittarian ambitions but have to look at what’s right in front of you (Gemini). What can you communicate that is ordinary (something you thought was matter of fact) but hasn’t been said? Maybe it will help others get through the day with a little more smoothness? How can that ready sense of adventure be translated into your next foray into the walls within your local community? The past couple of days I was out at the park and laced up my roller skates for the first time in 2 years. Getting around on skates is a good match for this full moon. Be safe, be well, and have fun navigating these times!
Every morning you wait, clothes, over a chair, to fill yourself with my vanity, my love, my hope, my body. Barely risen from sleep, I relinquish the water, enter your sleeves, my legs look for the hollows of your legs, and so embraced by your indefatigable faithfulness I rise, to tread the grass, enter poetry, consider through the windows, the things, the men, the women, the deeds and the fights go on forming me, go on making me face things working my hands, opening my eyes, using my mouth, and so, clothes, I too go forming you, extending your elbows, snapping your threads, and so your life expands in the image of my life. In the wind you billow and snap as if you were my soul, at bad times you cling to my bones, vacant, for the night, darkness, sleep populate with their phantoms your wings and mine. I wonder if one day a bullet from the enemy will leave you stained with my blood and then you will die with me or one day not quite so dramatic but simple, you will fall ill, clothes, with me, grow old with me, with my body and joined we will enter the earth. Because of this each day I greet you with reverence and then you embrace me and I forget you, because we are one and we will go on facing the wind, in the night, the streets or the fight, a single body, one day, one day, some day, still.
– Pablo Neruda
Poems that take the mundanity and animate it, supply magic to our every day. Pablo Neruda could do this; he had that particular talent. When I read about clothes as he writes about them in his poem above, I think about a time when clothing was made better, when items were sewn to last. Objects and tools used to have more value over the longer term. I long for those days, when we had such great care for our possessions, not in a purely material sense, but in such a way where there was longevity in the relationship–which to me, is a little bit different from attachment.
To me, this appreciation for these material items in our lives goes along with my background and appreciation for animism, how I consider that all of life is considered ‘alive.’ The official definition for animism is, “the belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe.” To me, however, the power is more magical, and need not be supernatural. Again recently I was reminiscing of the story of the Velveteen Rabbit, the rabbit who was ‘made real’ by love.
To me, animism as a philosophy is more harmonious and congruent with nature. It is in sync with material durability, in communion with time. In our expendable economies today, we have a “use once and throw away” culture. While I enjoyed seeing all the Halloween decorations this year (more than usual), I couldn’t help but think of the world’s trash problem, and how desperately we need to change our ways in society and in our economies. As an anthropologist, I would say that cultural change is necessitated first. I get excited when we learn about new bacterias or enzymes that can break-down plastic and resolve the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but we are still far from having the intellectual wealth and intelligence of our planet focused on solving these problems. Many people don’t know, for example, that it rains plastic.
My post is an appeal and a wish to “put the mental and emotional energy” for the planet on solving these problems. We need to have solutions for protecting our Earth, and we need to support our scientists. Yes, each person can make a difference by using re-usable items, and reducing their foot-print; however, I think we have to highlight using our voices, and sharing our hearts so that more people are inspired about what can be done.
if you are a butterfly under glass,
then play dead.
takes the fun and the
joy out of the science of
discovery, out of the
playtime of role-play
and temporary assignments,
exploration, even quantum theory.
we all know nightingales
like to be free, as do
butterflies and whispers
poems don’t love
to be scrutinized nor analyzed
for their psychic material
poems are more like butterflies
than psyches, more like butterflies
than like freud
than like rorschach,
than like LSD.
a poem is not an neurotransmitter,
nor a stimulated receptor, nor the electrical stimulus,
nor calcium
but it can affect you.
social media affects dopamine,
like crazy!
check your ventromedial prefrontal cortex
maybe a non-sequitur, but all things
have namable parts that don’t add up
always, but are still whole processes,
like healing
rarely makes any sense,
exactly
albeit the words are happening
thick, fluid, magical,
ungraspable.
untouchable-tangible
symbols have not 1:1
correlation-symmetry
more like 1: ad infinitum
we, who need to be free
take our freedom
in the moments of our breath,
use dashes, and make dashes,
or take our time,
on purpose.
find truth in
chuang tzu, in
freud, even, if necessary…
poetry as word
isn’t fake, nor outrightly
understandable.
it doesn’t have to be beautiful!
not all poems want to be
delivered with song
but you can see an internal
frequency,
even a trapped butterfly
may effect chaos theory
for theories are more easily
affected than are
the winds, with the momentum
of, say, a hurricane numbered 5.
my prayers were heard,
even when i didn’t pray
the way, i was expected to, with
the authorized format, given to me
by those who would punish me,
by those who would punish anybody,
by those who do not know self-love.
chuang tzu is not my god/goddess,
i reject capital letters right now
except for this one,
Process –
but even so, i yearn for another
language, to facilitate this meaning
***********************************************************************
This poem was written in the attempt to recover the creative adolescent
archetype, when expression was honestly exploring and feeling like the systems of the world were restraining forces, rather than assisting and engendering forces, a great questioning. It’s about being awkward, and being as a poem at the same time. When poetry didn’t have to be about rhyme or song, tradition – nor be didactic in any way. When poetry was about experimentation and “finding oneself” in the world. When poetry was about the journey and not the destination.
Also, this is integration work, and not meant to be viewed as a polished piece, final product, or current commentary. This is art-in-action.
Finally, once I found a coffee-shop, where at the readings, the host’s poetry sounded surrealist/da-da, and I felt like I fit in there at times.
This year I was blessed to be reunited with another poet of the heart & viscera. She is Kai Coggin. From the beginning, when I read her words, it was confirmed for me that Spirit had put me on the path of meeting and connecting with soul family; and she is One. She’s one of those co-hearts that transcends space and time. Our connection was quick in understanding; and roots run deep. She’s given me permission to share with you now one of my first favorite poems from her new book. It’s called, ‘End in Light’ p.99 Thank you, Kai, for sharing the gift of your voice and with all your heart!
⌘ End in Light
A Ghazal
Every footstep on the ancient wise path is worth the fight.
There is no other true purpose in life than to end in light.
Deviation is normal – not every journey starts out right,
but there is an internal compass steering to end in light.
Truth blindness and deaf ears defeat your heart’s flying,
everything is open – the source begins and ends in light.
Your first heartbeat is a star being born in the blackness.
Each beat and breath brings you closer to ending in light.
I have lived through the chaos of becoming illumined,
shedding false skins and shells, screaming to end in light.
This can be a dancing of spirit if your heart can break through,
be the ever virgin song that aches to fulfill the ending in light.
Life is a burning ground, a filling of a chalice that you hold inside.
My dear, fledgling soul – death is not the only way to end in light.
Let go of what you have been forced to believe is your self,
become everything that you know you are, that bends in light
and is not broken, but transforms into prisms and eleven rainbows,
and knows “I AM” becomes everything you are that ends in light.
Kai sent me this beautiful peace crane pictured above. She’s an amazing person, author, and educator. She has touched my heart. The edges of the book’s pages are already dog-eared with love.
I’m not alone in celebrating her…
“I first met Kai Coggin as a blazing fire of energy, a supernova educator in the Houston high schools. Now she is on her light path, teaching through her own poetry. Her words are spells, chants, prayers, invocations. Thank you, Kai, for work of the spirit, for illuminations like desert thunder and a night sky of benedictions.
– Sandra Cisneros, Internationally Acclaimed Author of The House on Mango Street”
Please visit her at http://www.kaicoggin.com/ and explore her wonderful site where you can read more reviews like the one above, and purchase her book.
Fiesta Estrellas 
You must be logged in to post a comment.