Waiting for Us
/During an artist co-residency sponsored by the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Sisters of Loretto, my dear friend Mandy Olivam and I co-wrote the following piece during a playful writing exercise. We didn’t intentionally write a poem for two voices, but it seemed to naturally and easily take that form.
While still at Loretto, we recorded the poem, which you can listen to below. For those who may not know our voices, Mandy’s is the first voice, Cory’s is the second.
Key for voices in the text below: First voice- standard text; second voice-italicized text; both voices together-bold text.
~ ~ ~
Waiting for Us
Vines winding up my legs to adorn me
with flowers, blooms of possibility.
Heavy metal chain weight of supremacy
confuses who I belong to. Who do I
Belong to? The sky.
Who do I belong to? The tick, the dragonfly, the red-winged blackbird, my human siblings,
he, she, they - a chorus of being,
canticle of creation, opening me to my Nature -
dirty and delightful, mysterious and mossy.
Messy, webs we weave and webs we walk through,
sometimes with intention - this web is a trap
sometimes with regret - thank you.
Darkness - a gift
Shadow - material texture that makes way for exploding nebula light,
stars only visible in grief.
Stars only visible in grief
Relief of tears
Release of fears?
Maybe we’re walking across galaxies that have been waiting for us
to long more wholly for soil-stardust beneath our feet.
Do you feel your toes tingling with connection to the Beginning,
or at least to your ancestors? They’re reaching through the soil
to gently grasp your ankles as you reach to the sky.
They are holding you into eternity - “We longed for your Joy!”
Joy. Beloved. We hold your joy. Enjoy!
You are realizing us, our dreams.
Mandy olivam and cory Lockhart sit at a table smiling at the camera. mandy is wearing a sleeveless dark gray jumpsuit. Cory is wearing a sleeveless pink and white striped dress. Behind them is the artist studio of the sisters of loretto with wood floors, walls, and ceiling.