THE QUICKENING by Shannon K. Lockhart

 The last two full moons have been powerful forces in my life...

I truly feel that it is pulling me both deeper inside and then pushing me outside of myself and I feel the pull to become someone different, to do something different with my life. I have gone deeper inside than I thought possible, and I surface in waves, finding bits of poems and drawings like souvenirs on the journey. This is a time of becoming, for me, for us, of creating a beloved community and the only thing I can compare it to is giving birth.

The Quickening

by Shannon K. Lockhart 

my heart beats

into that in between space

where my not-quite-words reach out,

beckoning me

to shape them into a 

communal significance

i sense the tingling

spark of important

my muscles arch and tense

even as i try to smooth out the

undercurrent of expectation

the moment is now

the birthing is happening deep inside

my heartspace- 

i feel

new life

pushing an

almost overwhelming

force of 

necessity to become

my tears soften and

open the shape into 

growth

i close down 

into almost-lost, 

paying attention only

to the swirling inside me

unaware of the 

sharp moans seeping out

deep breaths 

punctuated by timeless

suspension of

unknowing 

waiting

bearing down while

sinking into the waves 

that reverberate within

i am oblivious to all but

my own quickening

the stirring pushing

molding contractions, i

almost slide my whole self into

the profundity but 

the outside tethers me to real

and the moon

brings me gently into the 

pulsating

cycle of us

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!~