my friend lottie wrote this poem to celebrate a woman i am just getting to know – linda campbell, long-time movement builder based here in detroit. wanted to share it with y’all as i come off a weekend of very tangible creating. enjoy:

Concerning One Woman with a Very Wide Wingspan

We hold Oya.
this warrior spirit
Urban Orisha from the
east coast

we sit at your feet,
soaking in your spirit,
furrowed brow, and
thoughtful word

we go forward

we tell our story of
what warrior women do
we of strength,
courage, wisdom

we love with our ears,
we just listen
for the silent voices
we turn up the volume

we cook from scratch
we pull causes up by the root
we craft bowls to cradle
gentle new simmer stew

we seed generations
to come
we hold candles
we cry, we cry, we cry

we lightning bolt power
shocking it into truth
we whirl our skirts into
tornadoes

we change clothes

we put our pants on
we grow our beards
we are Pharoahs
we joust with strap-on dicks

we don’t blink when smoke is thick
we carry bricks to break mirrors
we are shape shifters,
movement builders

we do what we have to.