blinkered lights went off
i was softened 
by the night's blanket
stolen off the porch 
and brought back to bed 
astro black midnight blues
hues of me and you
central park green 
verdigris of the sea
the blue the black 
the bruising night
the red the red 
the red red light 
selah selah selah
say what time is it
say what time is it
it was pastime for us
to defend ourselves 
against the 
death-dealing system
the breath-stealing.
and we knew it but it
was still so fucking hard
and the brick wall the
every congealing thing
worked against us 
but we learned how to change
how to make their game obsolete
change ourselves and our ways
it was all so wonderful

[click here to hear this spoken word]

the apsis of love
how far and how close 
can we be?

perihelion
yr proximity
means nuthin’
in this hemisphere 
a cold shoulder
a close turn

aphelion
yr heart on the 
outskirts or perhaps my orbit
you are so very far 
this is when 
we truly burn for your 
return return return

Most of us have been taught to think of our body as a physical structure, isolated from everything else. But if we think of it as a living system, then a different picture emerges. Traditional Indigenous thinking points towards an open system, connected with the universe and the Creator. In the mid-1970s I wrote down what I had been saying in many Indian gatherings:
— Read on www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/where-do-our-bodies-end

“If I am peaceful in this discomfort, is not peace, is getting used to harm.” – Dionne Brand