for Lacy, Ellen, Jessi Lu and Lisa
In the darkness, Lacy points us toward two stars
stacked in a vertical line just above the horizon.
She teaches us to see the parallelogram
of a celestial teapot, then guides us
to find the spout which empties out
into the very center of our galaxy.
Naked, we stare at the distant milky glow
and know in our bones the center is not,
in fact, light years away, but right here
in our wood-fired hot tub in the middle
of a meadow with mountains all around.
Or wherever women commune, says Jessi Lu.
Yes, this is the tea cup right here, a cup
overflowing with laughter, tears, stories,
heart, and an ancient swirl of glittering stars.
Posts Tagged ‘women’
At High Camp Hut
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged constellations, galaxy, high camp, hot tub, women on August 9, 2026| 4 Comments »
The Unknown Women
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged abundance, blessing, gardening, women on July 1, 2026| 2 Comments »
They, too, once had gardens filled
with succulent dark leaves and firm
swollen roots they planted to feed
their family, their community, themselves.
They, too, would walk the rows and tug
at weeds and make small, quirky bouquets
to take to the graves of their loved ones.
I don’t know why their gardens are gone now.
Perhaps covered in ash from wildfire.
Perhaps bombed out and torn up by war.
Perhaps transformed to dust by drought.
Or perhaps they are simply too old now
to pick up the trowel, the shovel,
the hoe. But the women remember
how they marveled at the pea vines climbing
the fence to produce a profusion of sweet
green pods dangling on the wire.
I long to feed them from these beds,
if not the food itself, feed them at least the ongoing
dream of garden, as someday I, too,
will be offered the dream through the hands
and thoughts of another woman who finds herself
standing in the midst of abundance longing
to share it with all the women who can’t
find their way into the garden today.
Not knowing how to bless them, I bless them anyway
as I have been blessed, and I transplant calendula,
deadhead the cosmos, harvest
heads of garlic, brush the loose dirt away.
The Art of Tragedy
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged camille claudel, ekphrasis, history, tragedy, women on February 17, 2026| 4 Comments »
When was the first time you knew
you would never be loved for who you are?
The first time you knew you would disappoint
everyone when you dared to show up
as yourself? I think of Camille Claudel
in her white frock, the lacy one she was forced
to wear. Her mother’s anger when
young Camille would return from the woods,
mud-joyously smudged, after a day
spent forming skeletons in clay.
A decade later Camille would be the one
Rodin depended on to sculpt the hands
and feet of his masterpieces. He would put
his own name on her work. Decry her talent.
Disparage her truth. Have you, too,
had your gifts turned to weapons used against you?
Have you, too, had someone else’s hands
re-mold the clay of your life into a story
you cannot bear? Could you, too, like Camille,
carve your most painful moment into hard marble
and offer it to the world to see, a moment so raw
people would gasp when they saw it,
even a hundred years later, and filled with ache
they would say, oh, my god, it is so beautiful.
**
Oh friends. There are so many unsung heroes in the world. And I am so glad that during Women’s History Month (yes, it still exists and is still relevant), my dear friend Kayleen Asbo and I are hosting a two-week series on relatively unknown, remarkably talented women artists with incredible stories. The first week we learn about Camille Claudel, the subject of my poem above, who was first worshipped by and then vilified by Auguste Rodin. The second week we learn of the wacky, resilient Suzanne Valadon who was muse to Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Erik Satie, and more, who forged her own artistic path, recreating the feminine from object to subject. It is STILL a radical act to celebrate the lives and contributions of women artists. Join us, please. Both weeks we’ll have six writing opportunities inspired by these women’s lives and their art.
From Tragedy to Triumph: Writing with Great Women Artists
March 4 & 11, 11-1 mountain time
Zoom
$50/$80/$100
Join me and the incomparable cultural historian Kayleen Asbo for a two-week class in which we explore the lives of sculptress Camille Claudel (whom we briefly met in connection with Rodin) and the wildly unconventional and irrepressible Suzanne Valadon, who began her career as the favorite model of Renoir and Toulouse Lautrec and though self-taught, achieved remarkable success and renown in her own right as a painter. We will marry inspiring art with poetry and our shared creative writing practice. Join us!
No Longer Empty-Handed Cinepoem
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged body, cinepoem, guilty pleasure, pleasure, Risking Love, sexuality, video poem, women on August 28, 2025| 4 Comments »
CONTENT WARNING: If the idea of a woman sensually touching herself is not your jam, this video and poem are not for you. Please do not watch. But if you are at all curious about a new language for women’s pleasure, we made this for you. Totally tasteful, totally suggestive. This is what metaphor is for. And if you like it, please share. “No Longer Empty-Handed” is the twelfth track on RISKING LOVE, a spoken-word album that explores how we might fall more deeply in love with the world as it is, even when that seems impossible.
RISKING LOVE was made in collaboration with the amazing guitarist Steve Law. Video by the glorious Holiday Mathis.
To purchase RISKING LOVE, visit here.
Spotify: here ; Deezer: here ; Pandora: here ; Apple Music: here ; YouTube Music: here
And if you are a member of the Recording Academy (or know a voting member for the Grammy Awards), please consider this album for the Spoken Word Poetry Category.
Video and Audio Releases from RISKING LOVE to Date
Safety Net ; The Precious Matter of Love ; I Want an Interlude with Mr. Clean ; Into the Questions ; For the One Who Is Gone ; In Case You Don’t Know Already ; The Long Marriage ; The Broken Heart Goes Dancing ; Still Here ; Self-Portrait as Tuning Fork ; Because My Heart Is Where You Now Dwell ; No Longer Empty-Handed
Doing Water Aerobics in the Senior Living Community with Janie Bird
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged aging, resilience, swimming, women on June 20, 2023| 6 Comments »
She is over nine decades old,
this woman playing Pitbull
and Taylor Swift. Now run,
she says, and we do our best
to get somewhere by going nowhere
in the turquoise pool.
And she smiles as she tells us
to crisscross our arms, palms facing in,
to scissor our legs as if we are skiing,
to work harder, to make it our best.
I laugh like a child because it’s fun,
this hour when we play in the water,
frisky as ducklings, tender as saplings
inside old trunks, joyful
as old women who remember
how good it feels to be buoyant
as geese, resilient as ourselves.
Sewing Circle
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged circle, learning, needle, sewing, thread, women on June 8, 2022| 7 Comments »
It feels right to learn the stem stitch,
to embroider bright floss through the cloth,
to move the needle and watch words emerge
in long and ropy loops.
It feels right to sit at the oblong table
with my daughter and women I’ve only just met,
where the talk is light and we laugh
as bright thread slips through our fingers.
There are so many ways the world
is falling apart. So when the teacher explains,
We step and we float, as a method for moving
from one letter to another, I take notice:
How easy it can be to change, to start something new.
How easy to connect what seems separate.
I look across the table where my daughter
concentrates on her message in lavender and blue.
What a gift to learn these lessons together.
Not too loose. Not too tight. Stay consistent, smooth.
It feels right that I stitch my skirt into the project.
Some things can be undone.
O sweet, the lack of drama, the stakes so low.
How sweet, to share this moment, heads bowed.
Because fear, because sorrow, because hopelessness,
bless these circles where we come together
and make beauty. We step and we float,
step and float, linking one moment to the next,
we step and float, meeting the world
and each other one stitch at a time.
The Day after International Women’s Day I Think of My Mother
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged daughter, equality, international women's day, mother, women on March 9, 2020| Leave a Comment »
My mother did not forge tech innovation,
didn’t win Olympic medals, didn’t write
a textbook on equal rights.
But she did run for office. And won.
She coached the soccer team so girls could play.
At church, she led the people from the pew.
And she started a company so my father
could leave his job. I don’t think
she thought of herself as an activist.
She’ll be surprised, perhaps, I see her this way—
as a leader, a role model, an example
of a gender equal world. Because of her,
I never felt less than. Because of her,
I could see myself as doctor, poet,
model, president. Because of her,
I know how to scratch my children’s heads
each night before sleep. How
to make up a song when life is too much.
How to cry for beauty and love.
How to notice and praise
what is right with the world.
Spending the Day at the Volleyball Tournament
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged girls, love, sports, support, volleyball, women on February 10, 2020| 2 Comments »
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
—Annie Dillard
I want to spend my life
cheering for young girls as they learn
what they are capable of, learn
to trust themselves and each other,
learn to become a team. I want
to spend my life looking for new ways
to say, “I am thrilled with who
you are becoming.” I want to support
other women’s daughters, all of them,
some of them with my own hands.
It’s so easy, really. A glass of water,
a hug, a word, a shoulder, a nod.
And if days are our currency, let me
spend them giving as much love
as possible, though it sounds
like a cheer, though it feels like a pat
on the back, though it looks like
a bagel, a headband, a double thumbs up.
Women’s March, January 21, 2017
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged poem, poetry, speaking out, unity, women on January 21, 2017| 3 Comments »
It hurts to be silent—
the unsaid words
sharp as frazil ice—
needle shaped and
able to slice what
inside is tender.
Still, we found ways
to be silent.
I give thanks
for the chill
that woke up
the millions of women
around the world,
got us moving
in one direction.
I give thanks
for the diversity
of messages
that inspire us
to be not one voice
but millions
together.
As we march,
I think of the fish,
how they move as one,
sometimes daily,
sometimes annually.
They know
when to stay,
when to move,
when to give it
everything they’ve got.
Upcoming Poetry Programs for Women
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Brucie Holler, poetry retreat, poetry workshop, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Wilkinson Public Library, women on March 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Hi Poetry Friends,
What might happen to your creative life if you treated yourself to an inspirational, intimate and well, fun four days?
I will be co-leading a painting and poetry retreat, Going Out, Going In, in Telluride with the fabulous artist Brucie Holler, and if you register before March 31, you can get a 15% discount … I am putting a link here for more information and to register. Going Out Going In Retreat
*
Also just for women is a 4-hour session of Lost in Motherland: Writing to Discover Who We Are(n’t) on March 23 at Wilkinson Public Library, and it is FREE!
This will be a new version of this popular workshop, always based on the same theme: Motherhood changes things. Amidst the blessings and the challenges, we transform. As one mother put it, “With my first child, I lost my interests. With my second child, I lost my identity.” How do we lean into motherhood’s paradoxical blend of miracle and loss? Writing can help. As James Pennebroke writes in Opening Up, writing “clears the mind” and helps us “understand and reorient our complicated lives” and “helps keep our psychological compass oriented.” What happens when we ask, “Who am I?” As Ramana Maharshi says, “The purpose of that question is not to find an answer but to dissolve the questioner.” What’s that supposed to mean? Come play. For more information, contact Paula Ciberay at 970-728-4519
Dedication
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged ars poetica, audience, poem, voice, women on August 12, 2012| 4 Comments »
I wish you were writing this poem
about those two days you hid in the woods,
partially scalped, your legs broken, your two kids
with you, hiding from the man who promised
to kill you when he came home.
I wish you were writing this poem
about the places you go in your mind
when the men mount you and start
their furious pumping.
I wish you were writing this poem
about the day you knew for sure
that you were not beautiful.
I wish you were writing this poem
about the look on your child’s face
the moment you slapped her
for calling you Bitch. And another
poem about the moment after.
I wish you were writing this poem
to the woman who slept with your husband,
asking her everything you know
you will never understand.
I wish you were writing this poem
about the way the light hit the empty room
just after you packed all your things to leave,
and how in that light for a moment
you thought you could stay,
loving in that moment the room, the potential,
and still you knew you would go.
It would not comfort you, this poem
that you are not writing, would not make
one thing better. Would not fix, not heal,
not redeem nor transform.
But something would happen,
something unnamable and mysterious—
and from that broken, torn,
shredded place, you might create,
surprising yourself, a little more space.