Personal Writing

Goodbye, Alice.

| Marlys

I’m just one of many people who loved Alice. She was kind–always. She was my friend, but, then, she was a friend to all she met.

Alice’s memorial service was yesterday. Even knowing she was ready, I was saddened by the thought of a goodbye. I drove into the parking lot, saw how full it was, and pulled back out. Not that I’ve ever looked forward to funerals, but I haven’t been very good with them since my dad’s almost three years ago. I figured, there are so many people there, I’ll not be missed. But as I drove out, I could tell I needed to be there. I drove around the block and came back, entering the church right as it was time to begin and sitting at the back.

Besides sharing a church and loving several of the same people due to that affiliation, Alice and I had a couple other strong connections that bound us together–Chelsea and Ashley, her granddaughters. Both had been in classes with me at Cowley College, and they were and are remarkable young women. Alice and I spoke of them almost weekly for years. She was so proud of the women they are. I don’t mean things like education and jobs, although those were always quite good as well. I mean, who they are…inside.

Chelsea and Ashley did Alice proud in front of a full congregation yesterday by speaking about who she was and how they loved her. She was a major part of who these women became in life–strong, intelligent and compassionate. I can only hope they realize how much they added to her life, too. That truth was evident in every word Alice spoke of them.

Am I glad I went? Oh, yes, I am. Mostly, however, I’m glad to have hugged and been hugged in return by Chelsea and Ashley. I could feel Alice’s smile upon us in those brief moments of connection.

Alice, you are in your well-deserved Wonderland now, and I can just imagine the joy that met you there.

When Today Meets Tradition

| Marlys

Camera in hand, I go to the Standing Bear Pow Wow with plans to enjoy the food, artwork, music and dancing. As always, I am inspired by artistry of all kinds, and I know poetry and photographs are waiting for me. The pow wow grounds are a place of ceremony, of love, of remembering the past and celebrating the present. A friend’s dad is back on the drums after having been ill. Other friends are dancing. My expectations are high and my camera is ready.

I like to be here alone. Alone in the crowd is a favorite feeling of mine when I want to think and write and shoot. Behind the crowd and to the side of the grandstand, I catch the dancers as they come by and the drummers when I see them as dancers pass. All this beauty cannot keep my attention from the beautiful ink to my left, and my camera gravitates to it, to her. I snap a few shots, noticing a young man who watches as I do so. Later, he moves to her side. I should’ve known they belonged together.

First images
Reumion

I’d rather not consider myself so much the interloper, but I am too intrigued to move on. So, between shots of dancers and drummers and kids playing behind the scenes, of greeting friends and community members who walk by, and of jotting notes on my phone, I continue to sneak shots of his couple. Then, they give me the prize, the inspiration for deeper thoughts, for poetry, for celebration.

 

Today_Tradition4
Today Meets Tradition

See it? Two beautiful people, representing all that is today, all that is modern and chic. The cell phones come out, but it isn’t to read a friend’s text or post on Facebook or Twitter. Their action is to record the beauty of tradition, and there they are–inked arms and necks–awed by the ceremony and drawn to the people who are an active part of that ceremony.

I feel their longing to be part of what is before them, to come together in a unity that only centuries of tradition accomplish. They are to the dance, as I am to them–awed at a beauty that is only partially able to be described. The rest must be felt, internally and wholly…maybe even holy. There is something sacred in a place and time where all that is today meets with all that is tradition…and there is no collision, but rather respect and love and admiration.

I did take a moment to meet this young couple. I never have been any good at being sneaky, so I told on myself while asking permission to use the photographs for later writing. There is still a multitude of poetic reflections waiting to move from my mind and heart onto paper or into a computer.

I am thankful to Meg, and her great beauty, and to Joshua, and his pull to toward his family’s heritage, for providing me with this moment in time to reflect on the past and the present in a way that is whole and lovely–just as it should be.

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Kids Who Die: a look backward in a backward world

| Marlys

In 1938, Langston Hughes wrote the poem “Kids Who Die”. Listening to it today made me sad at how we seem to be right back in that time period of discrimination and hate, looking for the light that brings people together rather than  separating them. I’ve added a video link at the bottom of this post, in case you’d like to hear the poem. The video is created by Frank Chi and Terrance Green, and it is narrated  by Danny Glover. I found it posted on FB by ColorOfChange. It is tough to listen to his words and tough to watch the video that accompanies it.

I, in no way, feel the majority of officers of the law are violent in this manner, but the cases are growing and our communities are either growing numb to the outcomes/outcries, or recognizing they must take a stand, or becoming so scared for their youth they feel hopeless. The tides must change. For all the dialogue of Christian values, not nearly enough is lighting a path of love for all. All. I started with a posting on FB as I reposted the video, and it became obvious that there way more I needed to think through that is heavy on my heart on the subject, so I’ve moved to this venue instead.

It seems I spend much of my time justifying why I post or repost situations of brutality by those in authority, explaining again and again that I am not anti-police, anti-authority, but rather pro-people. Stereotypes are rampant for all sides of any issue, and I do not condone hurtful ones for any segment of our population with authority over others. Some of my favorite people are in law enforcement, and I grew up around several police officers, including police chiefs, and highway patrolmen, and I am friends today with many who work in law enforcement. I am not fearful of them. I count on these men and women to protect those I love.

However, even in my community and workplace, the fear of the “other” is much more rampant than it has been for a while, and I now fear for many I know and love. Any situation, interpreted like the stereotype, could lead to death. It’s not as simple as “follow the rules” or “do what you’re told.” That, too, has led to injury and even death for many. So, yes, while I agree that stereotypes abound for all segments of our population, including law enforcement, many of these do not result in injury and death. They may be unfair, and I will speak up against those that I know are just as I do for the innocent accused in any area. But my ethical and loving heart has to first go to those who are in the line of fire even though innocent, without being trained in how to navigate those who hate and/or fear them.

With sadness, I read about mothers who have to tell their children/youth how to behave in a submissive manner, not to question anything even if they have no idea what they are being charged for, to fear the police and not to trust the community around them…the one that is theirs as much as it is mine.

Search this. Previously, it was moms worrying about their boys. Now, there are the faces of so many girls in the mix, too, that the pool of potential victims has grown. Fear has grown. Fear and hate are the weeds in the garden that will not go away. Not with the love your gardening hands bring as you tend the space. Not with the chemicals put there in attempts to rid the area of these problems. They come back more times than we can count in that garden we love. How do you move from an issue that grows so out of control people begin to think their actions are aligned with their faith?

Friends I love observe a plethora of different faiths, but the common denominator in them is the idea of caring for the poor, the abused, the suffering. None truly elevate the idea of discrimination and injury, violence and death. Those elements may be brought in by segments of their followers, Isis within the Muslim faith, the Klan within Christianity, and so on, but they are not precepts of the faith. They are people bending their faith into what they want to see in the world, into something that helps them justify their actions. That is not faith, and that is  not coming from the truly faithful.

Right now, the faithful should hurt for others. Should pray fervently for change. Should meditate to center themselves into a strong place of conviction to the actual teachings of their faith. Should encourage others to do the same. In a loving way. Not in the in-your-face debate methods found throughout our world right now.

I am imperfect in all of this, but I strive for the perfection of loving people more than material items, helping people above personal greed, and serving the loving God I know to exist in the world and in my heart.

May your compassionate hearts reach out to those in the world who may need you, and may the compassion of others find you when you are in need.

Video Link: Kids Who Die, by Langston Hughes

Shifting Sands

| Marlys

The shells glisten as I hold them,

ready to be placed where I can see them easily.

Shells glisten

in my hands

as I look for

a special place

that can hold them.

Shells sit

on the nightstand

where I can look

anytime I need to

see them.

Shells hide

behind the books

under the papers

mixed in with other trinkets

not so important.

Shells allude me

as I try to grasp themTexas_Mermaid

but my memory fades

and they slip through my mind

like grains of sand slip through my fingers.

Aldermarsh: Spaces

| Marlys

In the darkness of the night at Aldermarsh, with my window open wide, I hear a coyote howl.  It reminds me of the loneliness I felt before this place, the longing, not understanding why.

I think of how much he’d love this space, yet if he were with me the internal journal might not have taken place.

Aldermarsh opens itself to people. It breathes of a life force not found many places, and certainly not spaces I’ve found. It’s natural yet welcoming, and I can feel that many have loved it before I.

WhidbeyHouse

In the shadows of my last morning is a softness I’ve come to love in only a few days. In the stacked rocks is a strength I’ve come to feel as my own.

If I’d known the personal road of the journey I would take ahead of time, I would not have come. Yet, now, I can feel myself on the verge of tears with a shortness of breath as I prepare to leave this place.

I know how to pack the items I brought with me, most of which I did not need. But how do I pack the emotions and spirits that have moved my sense of being? The feel of this air and the smell of this part of nature? The people who swept into my heart like a feather tickling my soul and urging it toward healing?

I pray I remember it all, especially how I felt as my spirit healed. The strength I found by placing the hurt I’d held in a greater context of my journey rather than letting it continue to define who I am.

There’s now a peace to being me that I’ve not truly felt since I was a child. An excitement to consider how the life I live will change in a beautiful way. A way that hurts no one,  only delights.

WhidbeyWalk   The path I’m on is clearer, the road I travel is filled with a beautiful anticipation of what’s to come.

I have peace that I will know my place on the various walks of life I take, that the spirit found at Aldermarsh, and those who were present here with me, go with me, and with each of them, as we continue on to fulfill our purpose here, in this life, on our beautiful space on this Earth.

And I feel grateful to all who were part of this time. Namaste.

 

Night Falls in My Heart

| Marlys

(Dedicated to Her)

by Marlys Cervantes

What the hell am I doing? Again. I lay on the couch, watching out the window for his headlights. The number of nights I’ve followed this routine probably numbers in the hundreds, so it takes a minute before I realize that my thought patterns have changed. I’ve spent so many nights in this very situation—hoping he’d make it home safely. What’s the difference tonight? He hasn’t changed, but when did I?

I think, almost pray, that he doesn’t make it home. I haven’t been to church in quite some time, and prayer hasn’t even crossed my mind in so long, I figure no one’s listening. Still, I can’t help but hope that this time, the drinking will lead him to a fatal wreck. I know. I know what that makes me. That makes me a horrible person, but I don’t know how else to get out.

By now, I can’t even remember the number of times I’ve left, or at least threatened it, only to return. I wonder if all women, only girls really, if they were like me, feel this strongly about the first person they make love to—an obligation to make it work, to make the giving of themselves meaningful. It’s only stronger now that we have a baby. I seem to find no road I’d willingly take to leave him.

I can’t help but think, what if he dies…I know I’ll hurt—I love him. But, I hurt now, and maybe hurting really hard, once, will be better than over and over and over again. I have to stop feeling this way. What if he really has that wreck? Would I be able to take the guilt I would most likely feel?

My mind is exhausted.  I try to think back to how I came to this place in time, in my life, in my mind, and I wonder if it will ever change, if he will ever change. Still, I can’t help it, one time of tremendous pain seems preferable to this exhaustion I feel continually. I wonder how much guilt I’d hold onto if it happened.

***

The baby cries and takes me out of my depression, out of wandering through my disheartened mind. I make my way to her room, and I bring her into the living room and rock her. I hold her close and listen to her heartbeat because she’s the only reason I am sane in this moment, at this time, waiting for him.

The walls dance with headlights, and I know he has made it safely home. The caress of lights over me feels almost like a hug, but I know that’s fleeting, only a momentary feeling. I wish it was more.  I wish I was more. I wish I was enough.

I wonder if he’ll already be angry. That’s the emotion alcohol generally brings out in him. No big surprise there. I was probably only 17 the last time I was able to laugh when he had alcohol on his breath. There’s been nothing fun or funny about it in so long.

As he enters the door and throws the things he’s carrying into the living room, I can see he is already filled with anger. I’m not even sure what it’s really about, but he starts ranting about wanting to beat up the neighbor over the dog or some idiotic, unimportant excuse for a fight. I tell him, no, he needs to just go to bed and not start anything that could get him in trouble.

His yelling and my pleading over that go on for a while. I’m even more exhausted.  It has to stop. Finally, I tell him he ought to go next door and take care of the guy. I say, I’m sure the guy is telling everyone in the neighborhood he’s too chicken to do anything about it.  Whatever it is. I think that once he’s out the door, I’ll call the police to come investigate the noise on the block. Surely, if they realize it was me calling, they won’t tell him. I’m simply not sure what else to do.

But he doesn’t go. And, he’s still angry. I say the wrong thing, I don’t even remember what, and he grabs up an ashtray stand and raises it over his head facing me. The shadow flows over me. Kind of like the headlights did. But, this doesn’t feel anything like that hug even for an instant. The stand is wooden and the top is ceramic. I know it’s heavy.

He swings it at me, just missing my head. I scream. She screams. My heart stops. I don’t know if she’s been hit, or if my screaming scared her. And, I can’t try to figure it out right now because he’s apologizing and, of course, requires all of my attention. One thing I know is, it won’t help to bring him back to the anger.

As I think about if she’s hurt, I have to focus on what to do. I would never have believed, growing up with a loving family, basic middle class, nice middle sized city, that I’d ever have this question, with no answer for it, in my mind: What on earth do I do now?

As the question resonates through my soul, my mind tells me that the first step is getting him to the bedroom. But, he’s now intent on apologizing, yet again, for this behavior, trying to bite his tongue each time he almost says it is my fault. Not that it would bother him in any way to blame me. But, at this point, he’s ready for bed instead of a fight. And I’m expected to forgive (well, that one probably doesn’t matter), forget (this one won’t matter unless I want to talk about any of this later), and be there with him, thankful, of course, that he wants to be in bed with me instead of someone else. At least, this time.

***

I tell him I’ll put her in her crib—to go back to the bedroom, and I’ll be there. Instead, he waits for me as I put her to bed. I’m glad to see that it looks like only a red mark on her forehead. She isn’t still crying, so surely there’s no serious injury, and she’s not yet bruised or swollen, so I feel some relief.  Maybe the stand he yielded hit the top of the wooden rocking chair at the same time it would have come down on her head. I don’t know anything for sure, except I think she’s okay. This time, at least.

I follow him back to the bedroom, he gets into bed, I hesitate, and she cries. Somehow, I’m thankful for this cry. It means I can put off, at least for a little bit, and longer if he falls asleep, the act that should feel like love but instead feels like another form of physical betrayal.

I’m disgusted with myself as much as I am with him over my feelings. Where did the young man I fell in love with at 16 go? But, with another cry, I’m again pulled out of my mind, and I tell him that I’ll just go check on her, and I’ll be right back.

***

Now, here’s where it gets bizarre, uncanny. I suddenly know exactly what to do. If asked the year before, or week before, or even day before, what I’d do in this situation—drunk, angry husband, possibly injured baby, and no confidence in myself to do anything about my life—I’d have said I’d be panic-stricken.

Funny, I’m not. Instead, before I get to my—his—bedroom door, I already know what to do. I hear it clearly being said to me as I leave the room. It’s like a whisper from a friend, a secret meant just for me.

Close his door.  I take three more steps out of the room.

Place the ironing board across the hall.  Another three steps.

Think. Where did you leave your car keys?  In my purse on the floor by the couch.

Get her quickly. I lift her into my arms, leaving everything else, and she fits snuggly just like the part of me that she is.

Turn off the hall light on your way out her door. I do, at the same time looking toward my purse so I can locate it in the dark. I feel her heartbeat against my chest, causing my heart to beat again.

Lock the front door on your way out.  Get the keys as quickly as you can because he’ll hear you at some point.  I pray it’s not too quickly that he does. She looks at me, unafraid.

I’m opening my car door just as he comes out of the front door and busts the porch light with his fist. He’s yelling that I’d better come back if I know what’s good for me, and any number of other things that I don’t really hear. He just keeps screaming.

But she’s not. And I’m not.  We are out.  I wonder how I ever let myself dig down and place my spirit so deep into this abyss. How can a person place so little value on herself? I wonder if I have the will to really leave him. This time. After coming back so many times before.

***

Then I remember. I remember with awe and gratitude the voice in my head that was that first source of clarity. Remembering this very first time that God enveloped me in a whisper that saved my life. And hers.