When she says, “you can’t go back,”
an opening.
So much striving petals into softness
and still, this bracing:
Who am I if not who I know myself to be?
Woman I’ve held, loved into hallowed skins.
“Make a welcome space,” she says,
so I pour the tea, gather mugwort,
face this blank page with black candle,
black tourmaline, my tongue’s
fresh rain of grace.
This is a line for becoming,
braving,
for slowing down
to catch myself surrender,
be shapeshifted by grief.
JOURNALING PROMPTS TO REFLECT ON THIS POEM
How have you been resisting who you are in this moment on your grief journey by trying to get back to some version of who you once were?
What would it mean to surrender to the ways grief is inviting you to transform, shed, awaken, release your attachment to the fixed and known?
How can you make a welcome space for who you are in this moment, all the tender, tremulous and emerging parts of you? How can you stay open to all you have yet to encounter?
Where do you see yourself softening and where are you still bracing? What wants to reveal itself at this intersection?
If you were to write a spell or blessing to carry you into this new becoming, what are the words you wish to offer yourself? You may begin with “This is a line for….” Try to keep your hand going across the page without interruption or analysis, writing for 7-10 minutes and see what emerges.
Take a poetic journey with ‘Wonder Unsung’
It’s a joy to share the release of my debut poetry album, a collaboration with Philly guitarist-producer Paulito Muse. When we met in the spring of 2023, and he later invited me to record some of my poems, I never imagined how they’d be transformed by his ethereal musical soundscapes — let alone that we’d create an album together.
These poems are an invitation toward more authentic, soulful living; a celebration of kinship and communion with the natural world; and both a blessing and elegy for being a body in this Black skin.
Listen here or stream, download and purchase at Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple Music.
Nourish begins this week
Join me in this weekly virtual space where we will tend our grief together — offering it our gentle attention and care, alongside practices, inquiries, framings and encouragements to cultivate a welcoming warmth for our sorrows. Sessions will include shared poetry, journal writing and art-making, guided meditations/grounding exercises, ritual and group reflection so that we experience being witnessed in community. All griefs are welcome.
Sessions will take place via Zoom starting Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. EST, and will run at the same time every Wednesday through March 20. Zoom link will be sent upon registration. Energy exchange is $125 for all four weeks.
Sign up here.
Save $50 off Harvesting Hope, a grief day retreat
[Video courtesy of Rise Gatherings]
As we move toward Spring, what has been ripening for you on your grief journey? What are the seeds of compassion, renewal, hope and possibility steering you toward new layers of becoming? Inviting you to do life differently, to center more of what you’re longing for, to make more room for connection and community? To turn toward what feels life-giving?
Join me for the daylong in-person retreat, “Harvesting Hope: Gifts From Grief,” from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. this Friday March 1 in beautiful New Hope, Pa.
At this Rise Gatherings experience, we’ll explore what it’s been like for us to rest in the long dark of winter, what the darkness has taught us to see and what shifts we’re ready to make in a new season.
This intimate retreat will include forest bathing, lunch and the workshop experience. Cost is $249. Save $50 at checkout with the code HOPE50.
Register here.
Check out this Philadelphia Magazine feature
I am deeply honored to be featured in this month’s Philadelphia Magazine article, “Death Can Be Isolating and Dehumanizing. But What If It Didn’t Have to Be?”
Writer Ben Seal asked such thoughtful questions in our interview, as he also shared some of his personal experiences being with a dying loved one. His interest in the subject is genuine, and it shows in his beautiful writing.
I couldn’t be more thrilled to share in this space with some of my friends in death and grief care, including Catherine Birdsall and Rebecca Maury of Threshold Collective (featured in the above photo), and Annie Wilson and Russ Alexander of Sunset Companions, along with all those working to change the culture around grief and dying in Philly.
Read the article here or if you’re in the Philadelphia area, pick up a copy this week wherever Philadelphia Magazine is sold.