we gotta start talking

radioshow

Standing Rock prayer

things I have taken for granted, in no particular order

things I have taken for granted, in no particular order:

sunflowers

that my friends would always be my friends

and we would all grow old together

my ability to see, hear, think, move, and speak

time

every single one of my teachers

rain

love

my hope for a world where blood and hate are not splashed 

across dance floors, playgrounds, schools, churches, theaters, and the streets of cities and villages the world over

that our children would outlive us

bees

Japan

~Hope June 12, 2016

Genuine Artifact

I don't want to look at a picture of myself
unless it's a shot of me openly grinning
and I can see that the light in my heart
     has burst across the lines of my smile and eyes
and now flows un-dammed all around me

I also might like a picture
if in it, I am flagrantly acting
     in defense of some noble cause
and I can see that I am fully present
and as strong as I will ever be

...or if the picture shows me in total commitment
to a moment that anchors
my unswerving attention
and I can see that I am listening
     to guiding words spoken
     inside my oldest mind

and "I" am barely there

~Hope 3.2.16

I Cast Spells and Look for Tells

Derek Mikel Shepherd, my nephew
born February 24, 1980 - August 14, 2012



I watched as his father became the priest
presiding over his son's ashes
     as they were strewn across the city-light-spattered bay
guiding his life fire
into the night sky's outgoing breath

None of us wished for our
 falling apart
 and coming together

All of us felt inadequate to the task
of speaking his epitaph
to the broken circle
around a heart
crafted with shells on the dark sand
by his family.


~Hope Shepherd
  August 27, 2012