I
am an introvert, but I was also abused, and these two things made me distrust
and also hide my feelings. My early experiences of love taught me that love was
difficult and wrong and painful.
It
has been through my experience as a mother of two very sensitive souls, both
intuitive boys, that I have been able to open up more and understand that love
takes many forms and that it is necessary to embrace oneself.
This
discovery was reinforced to me through my experience living in an indigenous
community in Guatemala, where love is shown so freely and concretely. I am
slowly learning that all love is a gift that needs to be shared.
"this is my
truth"
by Shannon K. Lockhart
this
is my truth
and
my secret-
i
fall in love
passionately,
with
both
men
and
women
in
fact, i am in love
with
many people
and
i know how
that
sounds,
because
i
used to be terrified and
confused
by
how
that
sounds...
but
i get it now,
this
is simply
who
i am
it
is really my best quality,
strength
grown
out of
my
longing for
deep
intimacy
and
vulnerability
it
has also been my
my
greatest secret-
i
used to worry
about
judgement
about
implications
about
labels
i
used to think that
i
was only allowed
to
love one person
my
love is sometimes
a
wild and
sexual
raucous
and
sometimes
it
is quiet
poetry
it
is the smell
of
incense burning,
the
mesmerizing,
swirling
trail
of
smoke
that
cleanses me
as
i watch it dance
towards
the sky
the
feel of a twirly
dress
while dancing
in
the pale light of
a
summer moon
it
is the scent of
amniotic
fluid
on
a fuzzy,
damp
little head
and
sometimes
it
is so simple-
so
obvious,
the
heart-soaring
deep
echo
of souls
resonating
with
each other,
the
quiet
truth
inside
that
pulls out
my
heart
and
offers it
without
thinking
twice,
risking
everything
i
have now realized
that
my confusion
stems
from
the
discovery
that
the right words
don't
exist
to
describe
how
my love
bursts
forth
i
am bound up in
a
culture
with
no
framework
to
ground my feelings,
just
those labels
those
questioning
accusations
those
planted doubts
i
have decided
to
ignore the labels
and
reject
the
fear that comes with
not
having
the
language
i
need
to
invite someone
inside
my world
for
now,
i
just want to
giggle
and snuggle
and
hold onto the
taste
of new love,
any
new love,
all
new love...
just
a little longer
until
the wild sparks
can
settle
into
white
hot ash
to
sustain me
Shannon K. Lockhart is a social worker, human rights activist, and teacher who has recently embarked on her newest journey as an artist and poet. She is a native Louisvillian, but has spent most of her adult life living in Chicago and Central America. Shannon spent 12 years working with indigenous communities, genocide survivors, and other human rights activists in Guatemala before returning to the U.S. with her family. Her greatest source of pride is her family, and she works hard to be a mother who imparts joy, gratitude, and respect for the unexpected bumps along the road. Shannon has published her poetry online with Rebelle Society and in DoveTales, a print journal published by the group, Writing for Peace. She can frequently be found drumming in parks with her family, drawing, or reading her poetry at the Urban Goatwalker Coffeehouse in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood.
~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~
This is an absolute celebration of who you are distilled in the impeccable crafting of your love for poetry. Thank you for sharing this and for coming so far as to love so deeply, all things, including yourself.
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