We are the Ones
We Have Been Waiting For
Resistance is The Secret of Joy
from the novel: Possessing the Secret of Joy
How to read this page: The Spanish translation, by Cuban poet Manuel Verdecia, will usually appear shortly after the English post. Scroll down to other, earlier entries in English and Spanish. Amanda Navarro is webmaster.
MARCH
The coronavirus 2020
WHAT WOULD MY MOTHER ADVISE: PRAY.
That we show up as best we can through this and all emergencies and disasters. That we hold dear our much valued, by all our ancestors, humanity. That we never forget to value our humility, our ancestors, our friends and beloved ones who count on us to embody the best that can be mustered in the most distressing and trying of times. To remember our blessings, the goodness of Life that we have enjoyed. That we make peace with our experiences and our souls. That we face whatever is to be faced with gratitude for what has already been received. ~Alice Walker
The virus itself is of stunning beauty; like so much on this rare planet. While seeking to avoid it, may we acknowledge its mystery. And may the wild animals, caught, tortured and caged, who have allegedly served as vehicles to bring the virus to humans, be freed and never, in any way, degraded again. Humans will have no peace, and will deserve none, until we accept responsibility for their liberation. ~AW
See: 60 Minutes Australia for a look at the so-called “wet markets.” Note especially the animal considered the most hunted in the world whose only defense when attacked is to curl itself into a ball. Note also that it is exquisite. And extremely aware. What is her name for herself? We can only wonder.
Lo Que Aconsejaría Mi Madre: Oren
***
Mexican Women Stay Home To Protest Femicides In ‘A Day Without Us’
Today The Women of Mexico
©2020 by Alice Walker
Today the women of Mexico
Who produce everything,
As women produce
Everything in the human
World,
Having produced
Every human;
Are standing in their kitchens,
Livingrooms,
Bedrooms,
Sitting on their porches,
Stoops,
In their yards
And behind their computers
And steering wheels
And saying hell no,
I won’t go,
To the jobs
They are expected to fill
After crossing a zone
Of terror
Of possible beatings
And killings
To get to them.
It is a tragedy
What is happening to Mexico
This beautiful country
That I love;
That I can hardly think about
Without weeping in memory
Of some kindness
Done to me.
A smile from an old man
Generous with his eyes;
A free tortilla from a mother of twins
Who laughs to think I came
Into her shop
To purchase only ten.
Wake up, Beloved Country.
Wake up, Mexico!
Join the women
In the fight to be free again.
Free of drugs, free of fear.
Free of machismo on acid
That rots more than teeth.
This assault on the feminine
Is an assault on the masculine
Woman born:
Remember your beauty
So obvious in your children;
Give them the example
Of Mexican soul
Generations of strangers
Have for centuries admired.
Come back to who you really are:
You are beloved, Mexico.
And you are drowning in horrors
Not natural to you.
Soul lost harms the Universe.
Who loses?
All of us.
FEBRUARY
MY SISTER OF THE WHITE FLOWERS
©2020 by Alice Walker
Every turn around the sun,
Every year on the date of my birth,
No matter where I am
And usually it is the same place,
Wherever I can worship in sunshine,
My gracious Sister of the White Flowers
Finds me.
I look up from whatever Wonder
Is holding me fast,
And there is someone at my gate.
They are holding a bouquet
Of white flowers.
Calla lilies
Frida’s lily,
As I think of them.
It has been years
Since I saw my Sister…
Continue reading, MY SISTER OF THE WHITE FLOWERS
How moving to see an awakened human who cares. We might all achieve this expression of concern that leads to action. What can each of us do? Like any substance abuser, we are addicted. I have started by talking to a friend from Alcoholics Anonymous, an organization I admire and respect: how can we learn to protect ourselves? We might begin by learning all we can about the accelerated dangers to the planet of 5-G. It is chilling to realize the danger discussed in the video is closer upon us – since many of us are wearing it -than global annihilation by climate.
Imagine that we are in a global classroom, which, thanks to our dangerous gadgets, is possible to construct. Someone who cares is asking us a simple question: What is the connection between 5-G, AI, and our brain? Is there a human future where these connect?~AW
Bob Nesta Marley. February 6, 1945
Dear Bob,
I have been to Nine Miles,
the place nine miles
from anywhere;
the place where you were born.
Years have passed and still it remains
a mystery;
how you sang your way
out of there. Your crypt
when last I visited
the nicest dwelling.
How mysterious
are our escapes
from anywhere
one might think
would hold us down.
It is the spirit
that can not be
refuses to be
destroyed, or even
maimed. And so, little curly headed
half-caste (so they referred sometimes
to you): you remain beloved,
unforgettable,
an ignited light of spirit
for all the generations
of loving rebels
to claim. To learn
from your exuberant example
that the determined soul
will find the broken link
in every chain.
Thank you for the beautiful gift of your life.
-Alice Walker, Feb.6, 2020
JANUARY
America Never Was America to Me... Langston Hughes.
The Red and the Black: Alice and Native Youth
Intertribal Friendship House, Oakland, California, Fall 2019 Photo by Ester Hernandez
RUNNING FOR OUR LIVES: THE RACE FOR LEADERSHIP OF THE UNFREE WORLD
©2020 by Alice Walker
Trevor Noah’s last name is rarely used by those who admire him. “Noah” suggests someone who, in times of possible world annihilation, endeavors to encourage our awareness of the situation and to bring some of us along. From all accounts the present day “flood” is upon us.
My own view of how far the present political structure is likely to take us can be found on a Youtube video called Earth At Risk. I think it is doomed to be dysfunctional, and have yet to observe, or to study, any period in history, when it has been run to the benefit of all of us. If it had, we’d be a healthy, confident, well educated, well fed and housed populace. We’d be like, for instance, Finland.
However, looking over the candidates running for the job of president this year – and it is a job, not a knighthood or kingship- we see some truly interesting possibilities. It is hard not to like people who genuinely care about us, no matter how unlikely it is that their dreams for our progress will come true. So I woke up this morning, having watched numerous interviews Trevor conducted with presidential contenders on The Daily Show, thinking about who appeals to me. …
Continue reading, RUNNING FOR OUR LIVES: The Race for Leadership in an Unfree World
January 15, 1929 Is A Sacred Date
©2020 by Alice Walker
This is what I believe:
We are connected
Well before birth
To the date of our actual
Arrival.
Arriving at that date and time
Is crucial to who we become.
Martin, Beloved,
They have moved your date of birth
As if it is meaningless.
It is tied now to a week-end
Of leisure; when
Exhausted revelers
And servants
May have a holiday.
There are many ways to sever us
From our native power:
Changing consciousness
About when we were born
Is one of them.
I call on all who love and loved you
To honor you on your own day.
That is where the energy was
That is when the magic powers
From we know not where
Poured into your life.
January 15, 1929 is a sacred date.
The Universe aligned with powerful forces
To make a visit to Atlanta, Georgia
And to your mother’s
Expectant bedside and womb
Only on that day.
***
15 De Enero De 1929, Una Fecha Sagrada
Altar collaboration: A.Walker and J.Weisinger
2020 – HARD TIMES REQUIRE MORE FURIOUS DANCING-
Video of our