0You say you need to
take another look around
the chambers of my heart
A tube will be snaked through my vein
make sure the blood is flowing
the muscle pulsing to its best
But it will not, can not
show the life of this woman
the history I have written
into the marrow of my bones
the stories tucked away
in the folds of my soul
My culture dancing on
the surface of my skin
the laughter like effervescent bubbles
gently stored in my belly
The luminescent light
shimmering in my hazel eyes
My gains and my losses
my loves and loss of love
You will see only a snapshot
of pure body function
which allows me to
create, live, breathe, be
Fix me, if needed
please
so I can heal
become
every new day
more than I was
each yesterday
adialogue asked: Excellent piece, well written and using words in the best possible way - to open up understanding, to connect people and ideas. I think you would like the Ted talk I watched yesterday. I can't include a link or web address in an ask but if you go to Ted and search for Rory Sutherland and his talk titled, "Perspective is Everything," you should be able to find it if you're interested.
I love the Ted talks! Thank you!
0
State Park, in black and white.
0~Visionary~
There is a pebble embedded
under my tattered nails
they are raw and ragged
caked with grass and dried mud
full where it should be empty crescent moons
Scratching at the surface
of the frozen ground
I was powerless
but once I felt
the heat radiating from
the core of the mother’s belly
I knew Santorini wasn’t so far away
after all
In the blink of a poet’s third eye
In the bluest blue of the sky
In the blossoming of a lotus I
I could be there and experience
the scent of the ebony sand
the ocean smoothed stones
My fingertips are the guide
as the blackest black ink
travels across the
virgin white parchment paper
creating synapse avenues
completing the circle
Like bubbles of air
I slowly rise to the surface
where this time the earth
is my sister awaiting
my return home
Peacock at Central Park Zoo.
1“ [There is a door. It opens. Then it is closed.] But a slip of light
stays, like a scrap of unreadable paper left on the floor,
or the one red leaf the snow releases in March. ”
Jane Hirshfield, from “Three Times My Life Has Opened”, last poem in The Lives of the Heart (via the-final-sentence)
(via the-final-sentence)
115
0~Revealed~
The whitewashed walls
needed reinventing
new bones waiting
for a splash of color
to be revealed
under the chipped plaster
craving the tender touch
of an artist with vision
who could hold
an endless palette
see the woman
in a field of lotus flowers
the dragonfly taking flight
from the palm of her
outstretched hand
2Age of Consent
I have been engaged in a discussion regarding James Hooker, the 41 year old teacher who left his wife and children for his former student, age 18. Is it just a coincidence the “couple” came public when she turned 18, the age of consent in California (she has since left him)? I do not think so. It has also been found that Mr. Hooker allegedly had another relationship with a 17 year old years ago. This could change his “status” from offender to predator, if the charges are proven true.
Although the conversation threaded through both the moral and legal issues, I was left wondering why we don’t have a national law in place, a democratic agreement upon what is acceptable and unacceptable, in regard to minors(we don’t even agree on the definition of a minor), in our country. If we hold to the truth that we have values which represent us as a people, why don’t we have a national standard for our children? It is difficult to come to an agreement, due to so many mitigating factors, however, the situation becomes very murky in its present format. Those who know me, know I am a fierce child advocate. Emotions aside, there seems to be a gaping flaw in our laws to protect children, namely the inconsistency of the laws, state-to-state.
We do have a federal law which clearly states the definition of child abuse. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) (42 U.S.C.A. § 5106g), as amended by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010, defines child abuse and neglect as, at minimum:
“Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation”; or
“An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.”
Article 261 of the Federal Criminal Code (PDF) states that: ”Whoever, without the purpose of reaching copulation, performs a sexual act in a person under 12 or in a person that has no capacity of understanding the meaning of the act or that for any reason cannot resist, or demands that the act is performed, will be punished with a term of 2 to 5 years in prison”. If the offender uses moral or physical violence, an extra half term is added to the initial time.
Yet we don’t have a national definition for “child”. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as “a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier”.
Furthermore, there are federal laws to protect children, under 12 and to 12-18, from sexual predators, yet the age of consent varies by jurisdiction, although the most common age is 16. There are also factors such as the age difference between the offender and the victim. In some states “Romeo and Juliet” laws exempt those close in age.
Much is left to interpretation.
So who is a “child”? It is legal for a 16 year old to drive, leave home, drop out of school and have sex, but not to drink or serve in the army? The brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. Should a 24 year old be considered a child? Where do we draw the line? 12? 16? 18? 24 1/2?
Leaving each state to decide creates a psychological statement that we, as a people, cannot come to a determination on how to best protect those who we are meant to protect the most - children. I find this unacceptable.
There are groups looking to reform the age of consent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_consent_reform), both nationally and internationally. However, I have not found one group advocating for a national determination for age of consent. It is time we come to a national, state-by-state consensus. Concurrent powers exist because states and federal governments have similar needs. Both typically need to keep people safe, support their economies, and punish wrongdoers. I believe an age-of-consent national law would fit under these “needs”.
Good source: http://nj-fair.com/age-of-consent/the-us-federal-age-of-sexual-consent/
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