THANK YOU

To my elders, to my cohorts, to my tribe:

Thank you, Hilda, for reminding me

That the world needs our stories

And relationships are durable.

Thank you, Aaron, for teaching me

That each of our truths are true.

Thank you, Timothy, for soothing me

With your voice, presence, and stories.

Thank you, Jesse Lee, for returning

For staying connected to emotional truths.

Thank you, Marge, for being so good,

For loving art, poetry, and the Plains.

Thank you, Deborah, for your candor

For your courage and sweet connection.

Thank you, Jim, for the mangroves,

For advocating art and serene days.

Thank you, Rob, for being an artist gentleman

For your abidance through life in textile.

Thank you, Frannie, for pushing your vision,

For generating our roots in large, bold print.

Thank you, Mary Jo, for bringing peace and love

To friendship, community, and art.

Thank you, Jane, for your kind goodness

For staying true to home and for reaching out.

Thank you, Brenda, for your courage

For each step you take toward new wholeness.

Thank you, Christine, for the watermelon seeds,

For your sweet pursuit of the moment’s grace.

Thank you, Val, for your courage,

For writing, caring, and being willing to feel.

Thank you to my tribe, who uses English for good,

To express, to love, and to heal,

Thank you to the world who uses language

To carry on what’s best in us all.

And thank you to every human being

Who has passed on and added to this concept of art

The food of the spirit that keeps us connected

When everything else plots to pull us apart.