Follow the Drinking Gourd

Follow the Drinking Gourd

 

I did not want to go.

Once invited, I often do not want to go.  

Disguised to myself as an introvert,
I often
Do not
Want 
To…….

Ironic,
Now that
Home
Is where
I be.

Back to yesterday’s story—

After the invitation,
There was
Lots of rationalizing
Tapdancing
Inside my head—

But I had just been there
The day before.

But it’s is a 25-minute drive,
That is exhausting.

So what if it won’t be back for 6,700 years?

Then I considered:
6,700 years?

Have I learned 
Nothing
In this 
pandemic
About 
Seizing the moment?      

So 
I 
Made
A
Decision
To go.

It seemed
The right
Decision.

I still 
Did not
Want
To go.

Netflix
Seemed
A better 
Idea.

Nevertheless, I got in the car.

I made a decision.
Putting the car in reserve,
I sighed.

Once
Driving through
The glorious
Berkshire hills,
Noticing
The green,

Noticing
The life,

Noticing
The pulsating
Perfection
Of this summer,

I started cracking myself up:

Driving is Not a sacrifice!

I love driving.
I love driving 
On this
Sacred
Berkshire
Land.

People come here, 
From all over,
To drive
Through
These
Glorious
Berkshire
Hills.

In that exact moment
On East Road,
As I was 
Enjoying myself
With myself,

As I was
Laughing
At 
My
Silly
Humanity,

I realized
In my decision
To go
To be with her,

I could still be:

• Bitchy.
• Smirky.
• Passive-aggressively
• Victim-y
• Silently annoyed
• Arms
• Energetically
• Crossed.

In that exact moment
On East Road
Hugged by the hills
That I so love,
I made a 
Different
Decision.

Another decision.

I mindfully 
Chose to not
Sulk,

To not
be
Pissed,

To not be
Victim,
Separate
And 
Right.

I chose to
Solidify
My decision
With action,

With attitude
Shift,

With 
Commitment.

And it was wonderful.

Freed
From
My 
Own 
sulkiness.

Making a decision yet stuck in 
Old behavior
Does not work.

Making a decision,
Following it 
Through
By
Changing—
That works.

And
Then
It
Was 
Time
To track
The comet!

The sky dark and clear.

Stars glistening.

How to find it?

Ah!
The Big Dipper.

Follow
The
Dipper.

We drove
Northwest
(thank you, Subaru people, for my car’s brilliance.)

We
found
The
Perfect
Place,

And open field,
Unencumbered
By tree line. 
In
The 
Northwest
Sky

Following
The
Big Dipper,

Unmistakable
In the sky,

That 
Multi-starred
Constellation
We 
Learn 
To know.

Follow
The 
Dipper
Down.

Follow 
The 
Bottom
Star
Down.

And there 
It was.

Neowise.
The comet

Faint
And
Stunning
In 
The
Sky.

Here today,
Back again
in 6,700.

It was
Miraculous,
In the searching,
In the finding,
In the quiet
Profundity
Of the sky.

In the darkness,
In the gleam,
Its soft- streak
Was
Unmistakable. 

Lying in bed
That night
I found myself
humming
That old song,

That song
We would sing
At 
Camp,
Looking 
At 
The 
Night
Sky,

Follow
The
Drinking
Gourd

That folk song
Whose lyrics
Supposedly
Guided
The slaves
Toward
The underground Railroad,
Toward
Freedom,
Toward 
Safety.

That is how we
Found
The comet.

We followed
Something
Unmistakable.

We followed
Something
We trusted
Enough.

That’s
How
I found
Freedom
From
My old
Ancient
Narrative.

I followed
My decision
Into action.

May
We all
Follow
Our truth.

Follow the
Directions
The earth
Gives
Us.

May we learn
To listen,
Inside
And
Out.

~~~

For the bravery and the daring of John Lewis.
For the sacrifice of George Floyd 
and Breonna Taylor
And all the endless others,
The infinity of others.

For the systemic inequity,
Centuries-old,
In 
our
Country.

May we follow
What
We 
Know
To be true.

May we
Act
Upon 
It,
Making
It
So.

Declaring is just not enough.
Acting upon it,
Leaning into new directions,
New behavior,
That is the doorway to transformation.
And this is the time.

Black Lives Matter.
Black Lives Matter.
Black Lives Matter.

~~~

I was strangely soothed by the visuals in this, one image melting, blending, become the next; I was comforted.  I was touched.