O' Happy New Year!

Musical guides:
Lizz Wright's "Salt"
Outside's "the rough and the smooth"
Ephraim Lewis' "Skin"
Cassandra Wilson's "Glamoured"
& Swing Out Sister's "The Living Return"

mood magic:
sage
candlelight only
pen and journal
a place that feels like home
______________________________________

spirit moved me to write this:

last minutes of 2005
overwhelmed by the gift of life
so much that
this may be the least
i have written
about a year so full

life, like jazz
is improvisational
best when we have faith
that our rhythm is guided
by God's grace
by the well-wishes of ancestors
by stubborn belief
in things not seen

i am experiencing
love so fully
i question my comprehension of it
in the years before

i am healthy
and have reason to believe
i will always be

i love that my family
struggles to love me
as unconditionally
as i've only known
to love them

the seeds of prosperity are planted
for the home I will build
for me and mine

i know i can be more courageous
less insecure
live more joyously
shimmy to life's dance
eyes closed and assured
tomorrow will hold me better
than today

i can challenge spaces of fear
so fiercely
that any weapon formed against me
cowers against the fullness
of my shine

this time
there are no explanations
no predictions or claims
just the certainty
that i am loved
that i am love
that i love
that i am
regenerating more of whatever
is the essence of God
in me

i am already allright
will offer more praise
for blessings believed
and even those
not yet received

years removed from any clamour
that i am unworthy
of even the simple joy
of a next breath
i exhale a smile,
my next lullaby,
faith in my loving
the man i have chosen to love
and who patiently loves me
(and well)

i am thankful
for friendships that do not crumble
under the pressure of time
or the wait of distance

so i sing
O Happy Day
and write of
O Dreams no longer deferred
and feel
O what a blessing it is
2 B
2 Believe
2 B Believing in Living
these first minutes of 2006
and then some