June Community Gathering - "Creative Process" #4: Lizzie Wann

Welcome back to “Creative Process" - a month-long journaling series from members of the Lady Brain Collective. Today we'll showcase several poems from poet Lizzie Wann:

image description:
colorful writing pens overlaid on photo of Lizzie Wann reciting poetry at a live event.

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“Global Mourning" by Lizzie Wann

another shooting
another fire
another politician
throws thoughts & prayers
upon the pyre

cold’s getting colder
warm’s getter warmer
will shouting
become a murmur
or will rage sustain
until there’s a reformer

I want to keep safe
people who
are erased
I want to be shelter
for those who
fear their protector

let’s bury the guns
before another one
wielded by
another white guy
kills for fun
or for hate
let’s eliminate
the industry
that arms bigotry

those ‘bad apple’ cops
afraid they won’t get the drop
so they shoot first
it can’t be reversed
another unarmed
brown or black person is harmed
another dream burst
another black hearse
another soul
to the universe

keep the press free
to report every atrocity
let journalists write &
think for themselves
not stick to party lines
or be compelled
to cover up presidential crimes

and what of medicine & science
as others rally around noncompliance
while thousands continue to suffer & die
some people can’t seem to be bothered
because it’s high time we beautify
they want to forget face masks and distance
but I’ll remain resistant
so I can keep my existence

recognize beauty in and of the world
the way a new language can get twirled
on your tongue, in your brain
the way different foods can taste
when you let your mind embrace
the adventure that is unfurled

fuck your white nationalism
fuck your ugly racism
fuck your domestic terrorism
I’ll create a life of global tourism
of dynamic feminism
of passionate egalitarianism
until the end notes of my lyricism
​am
I mourn, I triumph
I grieve, I glory
I bleed, I laugh
I rejoice
I rejoice
I rejoice

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​We are the night ocean filled with glints of light.
We are the space between the fish and the moon
While we sit here together.
- Rumi

“Safe Passage" by Lizzie Wann
a journey begins
whether it is your day-to-day
or a new adventure
each day brings opportunities
you can mend a broken heart
celebrate a new start
create your art
stand apart
sometimes it’s hard enough
to just exist
but when you have it in you
when you’re ready
you can resist
you can persist
you can untwist
your insides until all you find is love

your fellow voyagers
carry their own histories
stories that are bone-deep,
blood-soaked, and built
on those from before and before
when you listen and seek love
you will learn from them
for their wisdom is food for the soul

throughout your travels
you will experience peaks & valleys
adversity & advantage
smooth seas & rough waters
there will be times when you will be lost
but here’s some real-life magic

wind is power
adjust your sails and get moving

water is a conveyor
your path is untraceable

clouds are inspiration
let your mind get carried away

rain is music
a sweet song to lift your spirits

and the sky is a map
a constant reference point
find your North Star
and follow it unfailingly
track the sun & stars from east to west
chase the phases of the moon to mark time

finally remember
that when your own course
is straight & clear
to help those
who are adrift
​
every one of us
deserves safe passage

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“Murders, Unkindnesses & Other Winged Things" by Lizzie Wann
(from The Hospice Bubble & Other Devastating Affirmations)
​
I’ve got a thing for birds
not just any birds, but certain ones
those steeped in mythology or magic
the ones that signal omens & fate

that said, most birds frighten me
I have only recently begun
to enjoy whoosh of hummingbirds
as they dive & swoop
toward feeder in my parents’ backyard
their impossibly fast and tiny wings
fluttering like a feeling my heart used to know
but when a hummingbird is still
it’s like being let in on a secret

birds of prey are magnificent
hawks, falcons, owls
enormous wingspans & mighty talons
even Zeus chose an eagle as his companion
but always crows & ravens
have enchanted me
even their collective nouns conjure mystery

a murder of crows
bringers of light & death
godlike & wise
but always up for a good joke
they hold memories of other worlds
their familiar caws make my mornings

an unkindness of ravens
known to pick on other species
as a group if necessary
highly intelligent
symbolic of mind & thoughts
straight from the myth of Odin
​
I have dreams where I fly
I am neither crow nor raven
but the higher I go, the lighter I feel
to escape from daily
murders & unkindnesses

that we know
that we mourn
that we rage against
that don’t go away
when we close our eyes