liminality
seeds planted
not yet
taken shape

dough baking
process
in due time
what will it form

intimacy
what’s emerging
longing
being uncovered

what are you building
to what end
with the collective
in the midst of despair

I wrote this poem late last week. But it’s been percolating since the spring.

I was inspired by two dear friends, Denise Shanté Brown and V Starks. I read something that really moved me by Denise Shanté in their newly published book collection: book 1 "and when we touch our creative lineages" from the collection, "may we dream and design felt futures". And then separately but relatedly, I had a lovely conversation with V reflecting on creations and collaborations.

The pieces came together, culminated in a morning journal entry several weeks ago, which I’ve transcribed below. At the time, I dog-eared the page because I thought there was a poem embedded in there somewhere. I think it’s super sweet that upon returning to this page, this poem poured out of me. <3

“legacy as collective action — a love spell for this moment and the next — as we build creative lineages alongside the people who deepen our commitments and our liberation practice” Denise Shanté Brown on legacy and creative lineages

This section really hit this morning. Wasn’t clicking last night. I love this conceptualization of legacy as collective action. The things we seed and create with other people. I’m also thinking about an astrological note on this moment that I saw on Instagram recently “everything you plant won’t thrive in every season” (I hate that I didn’t save this post, if it was you or you know it, let me know and I will cite) I’m thinking about a conversation I had with V about this who flagged that some things take time to grow, underscoring this astrological point.

These conversations, readings and reflections resulted in a softening towards myself and all the various seeds that I’ve been planting with collaborators and comrades – for months and years. There is a lot in process right now, ideas that are being built out, but have not fully taken shape yet. Dough in the proverbial oven that might not even be ready to be baked cause we missed ingredients or didn’t knead the dough enough. And there are projects baking that just need to be in the oven a while – maybe the dough will rise on some, but not all, or maybe as V offered, trust that we’re growing a garden with the abundance of projects being seeded in due time.

In closing and on topic: the photo below is of a collage I recently created. It reflects how I’ve been navigating so much liminality in my life and around me—practicing letting go and holding on at the same time. I’m in the early stages of practicing collage, so we’ll see how this develops over time <3

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