She stood in front of me, gown white to the floor, draped down, gown over her head.
She looked at me for help, for answers.
She had stitches of string over her mouth, worn yet firm grey strings. Her mouth immobilized.
I started pulling them off one by one, slowly yet easily. Her eyes stayed on me, looking at me with longing as tears ran down her cheeks.
As I pulled each string away I saw her chapped lips, dry and wanting. I touched them gently and kissed them, looked into her wanting eyes and said,
You are safe.
Speak.
You are free.
We held each other for a long time in a warm and secure embrace. I felt her breaths deepen and relax, our bodies close, energy sharing.
The woman rose from our embrace like a bird with wings widening from her gown, wingspan hovering over me like holy and I was blessed by it. The tip of her wing touched my shoulder on her ascend.
As she soared above she called out her sound, her caw pierced every living thing’s ears like a calling they longed to hear. Like a song they knew and were never taught.
The caw song lingered in our minds and hearts with an urging and a knowing not yet sounded out loud.
And slowly, day by day, moment by moment, the sounds became clearer and louder in the hearts and minds of the people. And as this happened, new, unique, and always known sounds emerged and formed songs and poetry and truth-telling arts and lively conversations and loud gatherings.
And these sounds, and spaces, were made and held every time the faces of longing and wanting appeared wherever they were seen and known.
With time chimes were heard ringing through the breezes, melodies heard in trees, birds watched and heard from above, and the faces turned from longing to contentment and presence.
And children sang and told stories of places yet unseen on Earth and women spoke with authority and poetry and led with dignity, and men listened to the songs they knew but had forgotten and joined with their harmonies.
And the Sun kissed them and the Moon blessed them as they sang snd slept peacefully in dream.
JEO
8.8.2021