I want to sing you a song of joy. I want to show you the joy of the beautiful person whose poetry I am sharing in today’s post (and have shared before), Alok Vaid-Menon.
I hadn't come across that James Baldwin quotation before. Very profound, and inspiring: I've read a biography of his life and he had every reason to be a pessimist. He is one of the people I should love to have met and had dinner with! Thanks for sharing that, and all the other beautiful words, Holly.
"I want to ask you (and me) to consider what systems of power have taught us to love ourselves only to the extent that we hate the parts of us that don’t fit what they consider acceptable."
Thank you for standing in solidarity, Holly. Power can be marvelous or terrible, depending on the motivations behind it. And always that question: Who gets to be IN POWER? I've been struck, recently, by our assumption that hierarchy is a given. We've lived with that model for so long that we can't really picture another. And once again, nature shows us the way.
Right?! Such an important point—that we would do wise to be aware of the things we’re steeped in without even realizing it, like hierarchy.
I once was a founding member of a low-power bilingual radio station. We made decisions (as best we could) on a consensus basis, rather than hierarchy or even voting. It was a really interesting process to engage in. Often slowness—and my tendency toward irritation with the pace—would speak so loudly my ears were ringing. And I would remind myself this is the thing we’re doing. We’re so trained to get to the end that it’s hard to see the process (the how we got there) just as much. I’ll have to write about the experience sometime, as I was grateful to have participated in it. Thanks for jogging that memory with your wise, thoughtful observations, my friend.
"The body is three-dimensional language." This line is so thought-provoking. It speaks to the ways in which our bodies, our identities, are constantly being interpreted and often misinterpreted. It's a reminder that true understanding goes beyond words, requiring empathy and a willingness to see beyond surface appearances.
Yes, Alexander, this line spoke to me too. Thank you for pointing it out and bringing it back to my attention.
Yes to all of this. And it makes me think, too, of the “animalness” of us—how much we’re communicating without words all the time—and how comforting that is to me (to be reminded of our animalness in that way, that is).
I love what you did here, and thank you for being a part of the effort! I really enjoyed how each song is book-ended with a thought-provoking and piece and how each one talks about a unique and important aspect to consider.
This is so beautiful Holly - your prose entwined with ALOK's poetry reads like a single call/reply poem. Thank you for your shoutout for Lamb and Qstack - and everything, my dear. 💜💜💜
I love this, Holly. Thank you for sharing it. ALOK's words are wise and so are yours. xo
Thank you, dear friend. ♥️♥️♥️
Always my pleasure. xo
I hadn't come across that James Baldwin quotation before. Very profound, and inspiring: I've read a biography of his life and he had every reason to be a pessimist. He is one of the people I should love to have met and had dinner with! Thanks for sharing that, and all the other beautiful words, Holly.
"I want to ask you (and me) to consider what systems of power have taught us to love ourselves only to the extent that we hate the parts of us that don’t fit what they consider acceptable."
Thank you for standing in solidarity, Holly. Power can be marvelous or terrible, depending on the motivations behind it. And always that question: Who gets to be IN POWER? I've been struck, recently, by our assumption that hierarchy is a given. We've lived with that model for so long that we can't really picture another. And once again, nature shows us the way.
This is beautiful. I'm grateful to you and ALOK.
Right?! Such an important point—that we would do wise to be aware of the things we’re steeped in without even realizing it, like hierarchy.
I once was a founding member of a low-power bilingual radio station. We made decisions (as best we could) on a consensus basis, rather than hierarchy or even voting. It was a really interesting process to engage in. Often slowness—and my tendency toward irritation with the pace—would speak so loudly my ears were ringing. And I would remind myself this is the thing we’re doing. We’re so trained to get to the end that it’s hard to see the process (the how we got there) just as much. I’ll have to write about the experience sometime, as I was grateful to have participated in it. Thanks for jogging that memory with your wise, thoughtful observations, my friend.
I look forward to reading that story, too!
Thank you for sharing, Holly. Such powerful and moving words.
Thank you, my friend. I am truly so inspired by ALOK and the love they put into this world consistently.
"The body is three-dimensional language." This line is so thought-provoking. It speaks to the ways in which our bodies, our identities, are constantly being interpreted and often misinterpreted. It's a reminder that true understanding goes beyond words, requiring empathy and a willingness to see beyond surface appearances.
Yes, Alexander, this line spoke to me too. Thank you for pointing it out and bringing it back to my attention.
Yes to all of this. And it makes me think, too, of the “animalness” of us—how much we’re communicating without words all the time—and how comforting that is to me (to be reminded of our animalness in that way, that is).
Poetry is the important challenge we need to all the bad stories about who belongs and who doesn't. Thank you.
Thank you, Todd. It is such a sadness to me how much of humanity’s efforts are directed at deciding on belongingness.
I, as always, greatly appreciate your support and perspective.
I love what you did here, and thank you for being a part of the effort! I really enjoyed how each song is book-ended with a thought-provoking and piece and how each one talks about a unique and important aspect to consider.
Thank you! ♥️
This is so beautiful Holly - your prose entwined with ALOK's poetry reads like a single call/reply poem. Thank you for your shoutout for Lamb and Qstack - and everything, my dear. 💜💜💜
Thank you, thank you!
Sing it out loud!
♥️♥️
Everything you share is always so beautiful.
You're so beautiful! ♥️ Truly.
Thank you, Cici. I'm grateful to know you.
This moved me, Holly. Thanks for writing this and sharing the poetry.
Thank you, David! You're among those I am so grateful to have connected with through this platform. ♥️