Poetry Friends

Micaela Kaibni Raen and poet Dee Norwood discussing poetry in motion as the "other" mom

 
I am seemingly lost in poetry today with my friend, the poet, Dee Norwood.  We have a lot in common being lesbian parents, budding poets and community change agents working to make the world a better place each and every day.  I admire her tenacity, persistence and ability to laugh no matter what is going on around her.  Many poets have strong spirits but she is also a heroine in love .... for she is one of the most loving mothers I have ever seen and ever so patient with her children  The expansive ability to love and to laugh comes across in her poetics exhibiting a great talent that, over and over again, brings to us the important messages of our day.

Dee Norwood poem:

Upon the Occasion of our Falling in Love

We stand at the
Edge of a
Compatible cliff
Not knowing if
Our thick cord
Of commonalities
Will unravel into
Weak strands of coincidences
-a farce-
(the product of our fast forward into
everything we ever wanted)

And on a cue
That was never
Discussed we
Step softly off
And know we
Are falling into
Perfection

Fearless

Many people ask me if I am afraid of the public's reaction to my work, being lesbian, a mother, Arab-American, speaking out about the plight of Palestinian children...and more. The truth is that I have to believe that I am "me" for a reason and that reason is something of value to the world. Any act that can both integrate the fragmented pieces of myself and simultaneously empower and educate others is irresistible to me because that is the path that has unfolded in front of me. I must trust that path...that is my destiny. 

In an interview with NPR in 2013, internationally acclaimed author Manil Suri was asked about how he prepares to write a character like Jaz (the characterr is very sexual male who is also gay and Muslim) and whether he worries about backlash. Suri replied, "I sort of think — and this is something that is true of all novelists, hopefully — that writers have to be somewhat fearless."

Hearing this inspired me because I feel like, to walk on my authentic path, I will have to be fearless...have to be fearless over and over and over again.

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[Background note - Manil Suri's new novel, The City of Devi, opens with India and Pakistan on the verge of nuclear war. India is roiled by factional violence between Hindus and Muslims. Bombers strafe citizens, vigilantes settle scores, and terrorists set off dirty bombs around the country as Mumbai boils over with fear and fury. And if that's not enough, it's also a sex comedy.]        http://m.npr.org/news/Books/170585603