I come for myself 1- I come for myself, not you My pussy is my own My body is my own How dare you tell me That you were imagining a future for us I saw us
Your camper van house all the things I'll never need to know againYou invited me into your tiny house and taught me its secrets: The water pump needs to be on to flush the toilet One shower
groceries (what you've left behind)Just last week you walked through my door with Arms full of groceries, filled the fridge with my favorite zucchini, Kombucha, leeks, huge portobello mushrooms (which you claimed Are
Crafting a Memory of Wellbeing from the Car Crash I was in the forest with a notebook and pen, listening to a message from the trees. The energy was easeful, spacious, curious. I wrote and listened and breathed in the slightly smoky
The message from the trees Not long after requesting a message from the trees, I slammed into one going 15-20 mph in my car. The tree stood strong. My head slammed into the steering wheel twice, leaving me
Crumbling the Walls of Separation In Israel and Palestine, where I lived from December 2018 - March 2020, there is a vast concrete wall separating Jerusalem from the West Bank. The wall is unsurpassable for many: it is
Red sky Wildfires are raging across California. The sky is burnt red orange grey. Ash has settled on my stationary car, the bare earth, the leafy trees near my window, my moving body. Ash signifying
ease and encouragement I give the ease in my body space to enjoy the bird calls coming from the three pines. A plane hums overhead. Genmaicha in my cup. The air is cool and wet and
sand I send off my grief like sand spilling through my fingers settling like silt at the bottom of a river salty with tears I'm sorry, J for not asking more of your suffering
kickboxing and joy Today a friend and I were both feeling down, so I proposed we do yoga together over Zoom video. Can I be honest with you, Melanie? They said. I don’t want to
Constriction and space (3 ways) 1Constriction is in the furrowing of my brow, visible to only the sharpest observer running in line from my third eye to throat to belly button a sharp arrow on the war path
Goodbye letter Dear John, I do not want to be in this committed relationship anymore, I am sorry. I am dreading having to tell this to you in person and to see that I am
to my hungry ghost Dear hungry ghost deep within my body Welcome to this new day of existence in this 30th year of life Please come, blinking into the sunshine, for this moment, Sit down beside me
Roasted Sunflowers Post-revisionIn this Japanese Chinese American skin color of roasted sunflowers after a long laze in the sun I breathe on behalf of those not here – My grandfather, whose very hands labored in liquor
basket of water I set down the burden of grief at my feet It becomes the cushion on which I rest Touching the earth with head bowed I am capable of carrying this burden now, Learned
Sit.Walk.Listen: Bringing "collective awakening" to the streets of San Francisco This past Sunday June 14, I sat crosslegged in front of San Francisco’s City Hall, letting the words of the poet Langston Hughes flow over me, a vast and powerful river connecting
Roasted sunflowers Dear one In the midst of this suffering I give you permission to feel joy Joy for no purpose other than Sinking into the crisp wind ruffling your Exposed hands, the sharp summer
On race, privilege, and inclusivity in practice space Dear Thay, dear sangha, I feel moved by a Native friend’s email thread and by the recent police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis to look deeply into inclusivity in our sangha,
I wanted to complain and go home Arriving at this little white house Through the forest, past the river I’ve come for four days of quiet retreat Knowing I’ll cook for myself I wanted to cook tom kha
For you, John I open up slowly, like a flower unfurling her petals Letting go of the fear of being seen, relaxing into the Sweet cascade of your fingers skimming over each Region of my body,
For you, J I open up slowly, like a flower unfurling her petals letting go of the fear of being seen, relaxing into the sweet cascade of your fingers skimming over each region of my body,
fertile ground Pregnant with poetry I stand on this fertile ground waiting, breathing down into my abdomen my breath nourishing that which is growing within me The budding rose grows solid in the open pasture
The eve of 30 Tomorrow is your 30th birthday. You will celebrate at home, surrounded by the love of your brothers, mom, and dad, in a time of blooming water lilies, red maple saplings, and an ever
Melanie's birthday retreat changing like all thingsTo my dearest friends, Each of whom I have invited to Delight in the towering trees Of a mariposa spring Our time together is canceled for now The conditions are
practice critical thinking What does the practice look like if critical thinking is built into the beginning of every dharma talk before the refuges, before the four noble truths What if nothing is noble or right,
