first impressions of a land not-so-strange

been three days in this corner, here is crowded but more comfortable and cosy than most apartments in these parts. saw my new home tonight. i am comfortable with the thought of a new life there. it is cold here for me, cold summer. no anticipation for less gentle seasons. i am learning quickly, street names, dialects, that people aren't too big on appearance on these streets. i am two blocks from the park and yet to visit it. bobo shantis smile with me here too. i have said the word- 'perdon' 4 times and- 'oui' 2 times today... unintentionally. latinos and haitians are everywhere. a haitian woman said to me last night "we are almost the same"...i think she was trying to make me comfortable. we are the same. who we became was an accident of floating earth. brooklyn has too many familiar things to be so far from home..

be-leave.

my grips are in garbage bags.

I'm tired of throwing dreams out.
the only thing that gets collected
on mornings,
is dust,
skinning teal-coloured plastic.

They would always come back
stare you still,
and spill empathy
from air-tight recall.
like the begining of a breath,
short but pronounced,
and there in every pull.

one suitcase will
not allow room
for so many things.
can't store anymore problems
in this closing space,

nomads trace their leaving
behind them.

up.

Of things eyes brighten over.
but comes daylight with a drag
less tug, more escorting.
easy walk from smiles,
to less crooked lips
straight to the point,
rushed goodbyes
and kissed sores.

I'm in no hurry
for bitterness.
For dried salt streamed
like tribal marks,
buried into my cheeks.
these eyes are marble
and flint and opal.
with no last words,
only better hopes.

Arielle John copyright © 2010

fate.

Stubbornness.
That will teach faith to have self-worth again,
Remind trust how to believe in itself
Lend light to sulking mornings,
And baffle a whole lot of people.

All I have left,
is a handful of promises,
a heartful of hopes.
and it's all I have left.

copyyright © 2010 Arielle John.

womanifestation.

There is irony.

Blessed under heat of stung palms,

Red and beating like goat skin prized it,

This should not surprise us again.

Woven in breaths taken, not swallowed,

I will not take the venom in,

I will not make my melanin lose faith in itself,

I will not pretend to accept that women

Are treated as any flesh of yours,

Barren your days will be,

Shrivelling spines with brittle bones,

there is no going back

for me.

I will not be part of your colony,

Naming ceremonies,

and semblances of freedom,

Hold your own flag,

call it what you want,

Chant your songs,

Beat your drums,

Fall in love

With the call of your own voice-

Over and over again,

Folding, falling back on itself-

Over and over again,

Sleep with your own echoes

every black night in your beds,

but

this?

This is my end.

here.


© 2010 Arielle John

40 days.

I came to miss your mischief

Like it wasn’t morning anymore,

Like daytime settled lazy

Among pillows of cloud.

There is no pillar shrouding the sky for me

To predict the walk of my wakings

Wind would hush the dreams in my eyes,

Down the sheets of collecting lids,

The wilderness would wish for rain like today.

Tapping everything in me awake,

Till my colours come back.

Till thunder returns to my chest,

Until memory learns how to sing again,


I will wait.


© 2010 Arielle John.

on protecting our own.

Greetings and Peace be with you.
As recommended viewing by the Catholic Youth Secretariat (webpage) , I had tuned in to tonight's episode of "Who wants to be a millionaire in God's Kingdom", and I was disturbed by a comment that was made on the program.

They had been in the business of introducing the three teams, and when getting to the team from Fatima College in blue, under the team-name "saints", the host then remarks that the team-name created a "paradox" of some sort, with the sly expression of "If you know what i mean!" on his face, with one raised eyebrow. The other host joins in, and laughs almost uncontrollably at what seems to be funny for everyone in studio, except for the three (visibly not impressed) young men from Fatima.

The joke clearly was made in reference to the homosexual video episode earlier this week, with two boys from the school, and it troubles me to know that these young men from a Catholic school, go on to a Catholic television program to be made fun of, because of an issue that happened in the a Catholic school, that for years has not been sufficiently and effectively addressed.

It's the same as watching your house burning down and adding kerosene to the fire. They might look the same, but kerosene carries a stench, water does not. I know that culturally, we have a way of turning the most serious events and mishaps into comedy, but there is a time and place for all things, and this should not be the attitude when the church is facing such a vulnerable time as this one.

Do we as youth of the Catholic Church, allow this issue to become aggravated and a permanent stigma on our institutions, or do we use the unfortunate event to create forums for discussion, sharing, and Spirit-led instruction as to where the Church stands on the issue? Are we ready to assist and lend counsel to youth in our churches who may be struggling with homosexual and lesbian tendencies? Are we still going to pretend that the problem doesn't even exist?

The funny thing about being 'Catholic' is the whole idea of it being 'universal'. Which means that as the Body of Christ, if one part falls apart, no other part is left standing.

God's Blessings to you.