​The Time of Our Lives
 
This, then, is what we are given. 
 
ten or twenty thousand days
wherein we watch
a billion leaves
born then blush, fall
turn to earth, to silt,
to ash so soft
it will not bear a name.
 
from this black dust
we make our things, clothes
shelter, jewlelry
fiction--
 
stories in which
we seek conclusion,
our highest
and most dangerous invention.
 
for this culling of days
this harvest of dust
gathers meaning only
by our watching, our being,
 
our sensation of
what is forever being given--
that our bodies 
are really only leaves seeking light
 
loved at last
by the wind
 
Tony Taccone 
 
 

https://conta.cc/2IVaL6V

Link to the Thanksgiving Day Zoom Meeting 3:30 - 5
​

I Voted


I voted today.

I dropped my heart into the ballot box
And cast my vote for the world I want to see.

I voted for country over party,
And planet over country.

I voted for everyone, and their dog.

I voted for the ancestors,
And the dreams they prayed we would fulfill.

I voted for the children,
Carnivals and innocence and joy.

I voted for the elders,
Soft wisdom, busy hands weaving webs of time.

I voted for the Divine Feminine
To rise again and take her throne.

I voted for the moon.

I voted for owls and crows and croaking toads
And ancient forests teeming with life.

I voted for the Great Spirit
To guide us toward our rightful place
At the feet of the sacred,
Through the gates of conscience,
That we may find our way back home.

And of course, I voted for love.

Now what to do
But wait for the ballots to be counted?

Meanwhile, rivers roar, bones rattle,
Past and future ages hold their breath.

They are waiting to see
If our hearts will reawaken...
Eyes open and ears pricked forward,
Songs on the tips of their tongues,
Ready to welcome us back to the chorus of life.

I voted today.
I voted for you and me, free.

I voted that we'll make it
Back home together, alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaU2HvRhCPw
​

​What is Brave Space in These Pandemic Times

It is the ability to feel loneliness and know we’re not alone
It’s the ability to feel the anxiety of loved ones, of our selves …
     to hear the words “I’ve never felt like this before” …
     and to hold this anxiety like a tiny sparrow shaking
     within our loving hands while we softly hum songs of hope
     into the essence of its being
It’s being able to cry into open space for my sons
     in solidarity with all mothers and fathers everywhere
     for their sons and daughters
It’s the ability to anguish without collapse,
     to hear the pain of another with compassion,
     and still know where I stand and where you stand
It’s being able to pray, clear and strong, for all beings,
     for all businesses, for the world
     and all its life, still
It’s the decision to see the bright light of day
     through anger, greed, aggression and oppression
It’s the ability to pray as if our world depended on it, and it does
It’s the desire to make a heartful connection
     despite all political efforts to divide, separate, and conquer
It’s the ability to sing songs of peace, of inspiration
     to drum rhythms of freedom and hope
     in the face of chaos, uncertainty and fear
To paint, create, write, dance, knit patterns of harmony and wellness,
     of balance, love, and care
     into the very fabric of our existence
     into the core of our beinginess
     into the matrix of our world.
This is brave space in these pandemic times.

Written 10/30/2020, by Judith Piazza