Gonna Take a Miracle (for Laura Nyro)

Uneasy.  Have you sinned?  Did Pandora pull you from the box holding your dreams?  Did you flee after filling your mind with the fruits of Eve?

Go naturally.  Sing the madwoman, the sorceress, the witch of becoming, Our Lady of the Moon Eclipsing the Sun.  Sing terrible and trembling, elusive and out of control.

Time is near.  Still living in a paradise of fools.  Still living in a valley full of the shadows of fallen angels.  The Devil is still hungry.  The Devil is still sweet.

Way down there.  Meet fire with broken wings, broken heart, broken promises.  Tangle time up and lay time down.  Wash the sky, the water, the land, the air.  Stand on the brown earth with dreams and a white dove.

No chains.  Going to the moon dock going to the luna tick tock with medicine in my hand going to visit Our Lady of the Holy Woman the Holy Golden Wager.  Footslipping off the cliff out the window got blinds drawn all over me.

Freedom.  Under the boardwalk.  Up on the roof.

A daily blessing:
ride the fury of the soul–
sing the glory road.

Ingrid at Experiments in Fiction asked us to post something for International Women’s Day, today, March 8. I wrote this poem, first published in Formidable Woman in 2018, using the music of Laura Nyro as inspiration.. This year’s theme is #ChooseToChallenge. And so she did, and her words continue to resonate.