A Smile and a Wink
(From Brainstorms) With a smile and a wink you touched my heart.
And though our tales seem worlds apart,
When we let our guards down,
We find common ground.
For beyond the outer frame
What makes us human is the same:
Our heart,
Our divine spark,
The still part that knows
What we all really want.
At the end of my daughter’s first grade year, parents were invited to come to school for a Writer’s Tea. We sat in small chairs at small desks while our children shared their folders of stories and drawings they had created throughout the year.
The culminating moment of the Writer’s Tea was when each child stood in at the front of the classroom in front of a makeshift podium to read us their Bio Poem. The Bio Poems were written following a very specific structure, a sort of Mad Libs-style fill in the blanks.
The structure of the poems created a sense of continuity in the presentation, even as each child expressed their unique self through the words they had chosen. I listened as each of the 23 children stood up at the podium to tell us who they are. Some expressed themselves with confidence; others seemed nervous. Some were serious; others were silly.
Every child’s poem and presentation was completely original, and yet I noticed the poems had one thing in common. When asked to write three things that they need, every single child in that room wrote “love.” Twenty-three children stood in front of their parents and guests and told us that love is as essential to them as air and family and food (and, in some cases, T.V. and video games).
The children reminded us that love is not a choice; it is a necessity.
This week, I want to share a video that has captivated my heart. ButtaFlySoul (accompanied by Ken J. Martin) addresses bullying and stigma through spoken word and music. The video below is from an event produced by the The T.R.U.T.H. Project, based in Houston, Texas. The T.R.U.T.H. Project supports the LGBTQ community and allies by creating self-awareness and healing through performance arts and social engagement. Watch the video below and learn more about T.R.U.T.H. Project here.
Sending you a giant love beam!
xoxo,
Jennifer