Starlight
[No. 85]
HOW TO BALANCE NEED OF SELF VS. MUTUAL AID AND COMMUNITY FUNCTION? HOW TO JUGGLE BEING IN NEAR PROXIMITY TO SOMEONE/SOCIETY WITH SUICIDAL TENDENCIES AND TAKING CARE/RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT WITHOUT GOING DOWN WITH THE SHIP.
An original poem by Rhiannon McGavin
On the home screen of my phone
is a picture of the last tarot card I pulled
a reminder to make it mean something
more than colored paper:
The Star
a woman kneels with a pitcher
in each hand, pouring water
into the stream before her
and water onto the grass
under her feet.
Behind her, an apple tree spreads
its branches against a twilight sky.
Beyond the frame of this picture,
I imagine other women praying
by their own banks, our rivers
connected, our tears, our sweat.
I want to trust
that what I nourish
will return to me and flow
to those who need it.
When the world is all dark
walks home, we can find each other,
the flames of our being
guiding each other on
without diminishing the shine,
without burning our fingertips.
I want to trust that you will
find your way to the tomorrow
that runs to meet you.
If your spark falters, I will be there
to rekindle with a cup of tea, a joke,
a new perspective. All you have to do is
find the words to ask. To trust the language
that you grew inside. To keep breathing.
We can be each other’s constellations.
We hold all that we need to survive together.