Poetic License~My Best Friend

This afternoon trying to stay busy as not to cry again, I was looking through my catalog of poems trying to find one I had written 14 years ago on my other best friend Phylis who died in 2001. 

I had a friend of mine who was trying to help a couple of months ago & accidently wiped out my hard drive we thought with all my manuscripts, art & poetry. Over the last few months I have painstakingly retrieved a few from various sources. 

Well this afternoon I did something I had never done before and did a search on my desktop and two amazing things happen: 1. I found my manuscript, my poetry and 2 years of essays! 

I've been copying them as quickly as I could when all of a sudden.. .

2. I found a poem that Karen had written back in 1982! I am sharing that with you today to honor my friend. Karen & I have done poetry readings before, she had been the voice, the narrator of my doc on Katrina. I am going to share it with her family when I put the quilt together for them... 

 

Flight

                     By Karen F. Hurst ©82

When I was a child I believed I could fly

I told this to my mother who'd watch me and sigh

"Girl, you're a child, not a sparrow or a wren,"

Then she pause and say sternly, " Don't say that again"

The subject was closed, but I knew I was right.

I'd go to my room, close the door and take flight!

Later I'd tell her just how high I flew

She'd say,"You 're dreaming, dear." Ah! but I knew.

No, this is no dream, I'd cry to myself

As I flew from my bed to perch high on a shelf.

And I vovwed to myself that one day she'd see

What she thought was a bird in the sky would be me!

As I grew older, I forgot I had wings.

I was told to be "normal" to do "normal things"

The more normal I got, the more Mother smile

"You're a sensible girl, not flighty or wild

Dream dreams if you must, but to make them come true.

Be sure they make sense to those around you"

Now, thats good sound advice if you happen to be,

One who's not seen the world from the top of a tree.

But, I had tho' I knew no one'd believe

So I stayed on the ground and let my soul grieve.

I prayed tho' some day again I'd take flight

My flying now trapped inthe wings of the night.

The older I got, the more trapped I became

Like a bird who's been caught and who's wings had gone

                                lame

I convinced myself I'd imagined it all.

I couldn't fly, I"d do nothing but fall

My mother was right, I didn't have wings

I confined my spirit to sensible things

I did all the things I saw others do,

And didn't know why I was so sad & blue.

Its hard to be someone you know when you're not.

Deep down within, my poor spirit fought.

The wings of my soul beat hard on the cage'I soon found myself filled with bitterness's rage!

Just as I felt that I had been beat,

My spirit hung limp with the thought of defeat.

Just as I told myself I'd fly no more

A great hand touched my cage and opened the door!

The hand held two birds, two tiny white doves,

Both given to me with a great deal of love.

They looked up at me, large eyes filled with wonder

"Teach them to fly", said a voice filled like thunder

"But humans can't fly, is what Mother said....

If we cannot fly, then we'd rather be dead".

In shock and with fear, I looked into those eyes,

"Don't say that my darlings, I'll teach you to fly!"

We went to the top of a very high hill

All the earth seemed to stop, all greww very still.

"I've not flown for years," I tried to explain.

No excuse would do.  It grew very plain.

I looked into those faces and then at the sky-

"God, if you're up there, please help me to fly"

I raised heavenward and then took flight!

What a glorious feeling!  A wonderful sight!

I;d never again deny my soul's needs.

The cage door was open, I knew I'd been freed!

And I heard myself say, flying into the blue,

"God does answer prayers!  Dreams do come true!"

All Rights ReservedKFH©6-82

Now I've gon' & Dunnit~ Hot Dog!

Photography JHM©09 All rights reserved

I've gone & done it...

Well it has happen 2 weeks and 4 days ago I took the leap and went home to New Orleans. I have had this pull since the storm o return but circumstances as well as my own deflection delayed, though not denied, what has now happened.

After awhile of doing things long distance, it wasn't enough. Because of an extraordinary circumstance and a few exceptional persons, I tossed, discarded and gave away what I had in Oregon and not only came home, but ironically ended up 2 blocks from where my parents as a young married couple brought me home from the hospital.

I have proof the address is on my birth certificate.

The house is gone after Katrina but I track down the owners. My parents just a few months after my birth bought our house in the Lower Ninth Ward which is where I spent my childhood. And I discovered by one of local artist fiercely working it in the Lower Nines, that the last vestiges of my childhood, the elementary school I attended has now been demolished.

Too long with too much mold, asbestos & time caused its demise.

Within 3 days I was attending the Imagining America national conference http://www.imaginingamerica.org/ held at the New Orleans Villa Treme African American Museum that set the tone. ..

I will also be volunteering with Mos Chukma Institute http://www.moschukmainstitute.org/ housed at the MLK Charter School for Science & Technology , the only operating school in the Lower Ninth Ward where our 44th POTUS Obama stopped in to visit today.

The director of Mos Chukma ,which is a Houma Indian word meaning "perfect child", Amelie Parker, a vital 60-something artist residing in Bywater community in the Ninth Ward, gave up her retirement monies packed up came home to create this innovative , unique program assisting the young children in coping with bereavement, grief & loss following the storm. It is the only component in the city using the arts with mental health with young people some of with are now entering middle/ high school and now able to articulate their feelings.

http://www.moschukmainstitute.org/projects.html

Ms. Parker who has a degree in psychology & a talented artist had previously worked on a reservation in Northern California, but without hesitation came home to New Orleans to help.

Four years later with her entire retirement now spent, she is still diligently plugging in. Her son who is an English teacher came to New Orleans to volunteer for a few weeks last year and has decided to return ended up teaching literature in one of the schools on the West Bank.

Now I've come also to lend a hand... As I should.

I know Ms. Parker's vision is to broaden the scope of what she is doing in training others so this excellent program can be implemented in other schools in the parish. In my personal opinion I can easily see it being a national one too.

Her fierce devotion to these young people is being done on air as most of us can appreciate from some point of our lives. I am planning on not only giving of time, but a percentage of the sale of my art over the next year to help. Understand, Ms. Parker could have lived the last third of her life in comfort, but like many others in faith & courage came.

We could do no less...

In the last year I've come to discover that I was not the only one who had hear the pull and the song to come. I knew of 11 others who have. I can say this for a fact, the vibe is different and people are working hard.

Neither I nor any of these other people see ourselves as Moses. None of this is done out of arrogance.. It is our home too and this is what we should do. We run the gamut of occupations & professions from the visionaries, artists, business people and even an mathematician.

This 1st year I will start blogging on my first year home, as an observer & a native daughter , called Burnt Toast, Sweet Tea & Thyme.

I want to, as I renew my relationship with my home as it is being renewed, is to highlight those as one I met today and how they are in the small and the lagniappe, are doing their part, pulling their weight.

And I will also have a group by the same name meeting in my home on a monthly basis after the 1st of the year as I raise the question a the conference in who will care for the caretakers? These are the first line of people who came home who are tired, need cheering and respite to refuel and refresh.

So here we are...

I love these two quotes:

"If we truly love, we must deal with a person where that person is. Not as if all that their life can mean is wrapped up in what we are seeing and experiencing with them at that moment in time. We must deal with them in the light of what they are plus what seems to be the possibility & potential of their lives. To meet people where they are & deal with them there as if they were where they should be, this is love". ~George Frasier,Success Net http://www.frasiernet.com/ http://www.10truths2click.com/

When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly."~Patrick Overton