Mothering is a Practice (It Can Be): A Poem from the Revolutionary Walkers

Revolutionary Mothering

Yesterday’s sweet journey with the other participants of Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind‘s In Search of Our Mothers: A Revolutionary Garden Walk

was a blessing!  Duke Gardens looked especially womanist (which is to say, purple) and alive with allium flowers, birds and beautiful people of color in fancy clothes.

Together, inspired by specific excerpts of Alice Walker’s ground-nurturing essay “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” and by her poetic definition of womanism, we reconsecrated a fountain, meditated in public, walked by ourselves humming and singing, walked together talking and created a group poem inspired by Alice Walker’s revolutionary proposition in her essay “Democratic Motherism” (in the book The World Will Follow Joy) that “Mothering is an instinct, yes, but it is also a practice.  It can be learned.”

Here is our verbtastic poem, reflecting on mothering as a practice.  Oh! And we created this poem together standing…

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Revolutionary Web Conversation #1 and the Upcoming Conversations!

Yesterday’s conversation between Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Mai’a Williams about Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines was everything! It went everywhere!  If you missed it you can watch it here:

Also! There are more conversations coming up!

See Lex in conversation with:

Conversation #2:

Cynthia Oka (contributor to Revolutionary Mothering and power poet and activist) on May 17th at 1pm Eastern

Watch live or later here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mdod9mRsNg

Conversation #3:

China Martens (co-editor of Revolutionary Mothering and powerhouse mama author and organizer)  May 18th at 1pm Eastern

Watch live or later here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC5936nnbxw

Today: Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines Web Conversation #1

Photo by sister-editor China Martens

Tune in today for a long distance kitchen table conversation with Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Mai’a Williams (two of the three co-editors of Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines) in a one on one conversation on moving from the shorelines to the frontlines, mothering, the revolutionary mothering zine, transnational fairy godmothering and more.

Tune in to our video conversation live, or after the fact here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJy7Djn_6bc

See you soon!

Love,

Lex and Mai’a

And it is Done: Daughter Dreams Actualized

Last night’s Daughter Dreams: Revolutionary Mother’s Day Conversation #1 was a miracle!  Fruit, cake, juice and profound sharing about our night dreams, our spiritual visions and our aspirational intentions about being and having daughters and mothers and birthing creativity, possibility and community into the world!

After a night of laughter, tears, lesson sharing, deep listening and collaborative remembering we created a poem together and offered it to each other in a circle to witness and affirm our intentions. After each dream affirmation we repeated “And it is done,” together.  We invite you to witness and affirm our dreams now.  Feel free to add your own dream affirmation in the comment section. And it is done!

And it is done.

by the participants in Daughter Dreams

for the unloveable broken pieces

I dream of wholeness

And it is done.

for my 3 daughters

I dream a world where they can soar and shine in safe environments

And it is done.

for my grandchildren

I dream that they will one day ask “what is gender?” “what is gender violence?” because they haven’t experienced the colonization of gender and violence against women and girls.

And it is done.

for my mother Anthonette Elix to Anne Wallace

I dream of faith and her highest destiny fulfilled

And it is done.

for Osunnike and Ololodi

I dream of unlimited creativty, health and wholeness in their bodies and realized visions

And it is done.

for Erica Jeanette Wallace

I dream of purposeful and peaceful living and loving

And it is done.

for myself I dream of abundant space, love, partnership and collaboration

And it is done.

for Eloise

I dream of your love expression

And it is done.

for Aleese

I dream of continued life

And it is done.

for my mother Carmen

I dream of the creativity you were never allowed to express.

I dream of the adventures you’ll have not that I’m grown.

I dream of life.

And it is done.

for Bombom and Bz

I dream self-knowledge and self-love

And it is done.

for Lula Mae

I dream wholeness

And it is done.

for liberation

I dream of expansive thought and courage

And it is done.

for future

I dream of life abundant

And it is done.

for love

I dream of light

Our panelists Michelle Lanier, Dannette Sharpley, Rachael Derello and Dannette’s daughter Maria Lillian, blessed by light.

And it is done.

for Pearl Adele Stokes

I dream of me and the rest of her descendants experiencing a true sense of liberation in our spirits minds and bodies.

And it is done.

for Pearlene Derello

I dream of us healing our individual, collective and ancestral trauma

And it is done.

for Adele Rose Derello-Luebke

I dream of us all forever living int our own bodies (while we are on this plane) safely, lovingly and with gratitude

And it is done.

for Eden and all she births

I dream of grace made liberated by her love made life- overflowing in peace, fertile in shimmering goodness-glorious to behold!

And it is done.

for Mariah

I dream of a world where both literary and intuition are respected equally.

It is done. We live not by bread alone but by our hunches, inklings, wisdom, knowledge and sheepskin.

And it is done.

for IonaPearl

I dream of JOYFUL TRUE CONNECTION

And it is done.

for Lorraine

I dream of RELEASE FROM THE BONDAGE OF ANXIETY

And it is done.

for Courtney

I dream of TRUST and BELIEF IN HER GIFTS

And it is done.

for Jeevan

I dream of open untrammeled, uninhibited life

fields of life spilling over with light and the possible

deep soils of life endless and unknown

waiting for you, you in particular, you to join us in joy

And it is done.

for me

I dream of making space

making art

And it is done.

for Judy

I dream of being with glorious eyes and heart wide open

And it is done.

for myself

I dream of strength

And it is done.

for Carmela

I dream of home

And it is done.

for children

I dream they will not be harmed

And it is done.

for Richard and Joni

I dream a world

And it is done.

for Richard and Joni

I dream of their own bed

And it is done.

for my daughter

I dream a safe home and a steady bed

And it is done.

for Ariana

I dream of homefulness, heldness, hope and hallelujah

And it is done.

for me

I dream of openness to receive the love I was made by and for

And it is done.

Look out for Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines from PM Press this Fall!

Much gratitude to Ed Swan and the L Room B & B for hosting this event.  Please support their fundraising campaign if you can!  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/thelroombnb

Today: Daughter Dreams: Revolutionary Mother’s Day Conversation #1

Join Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind for the first in a series of Revolutionary Mother’s Day conversations.

Thursday May 7th at 6pm at the L-Room (107 West Geer St. Durham, NC)

This first session is about mothers and daughters and dreaming and will feature wisdom from wise mamas in Durham including

Michelle Lanier

Serena Sebring

Dannette Sharpley

Rachael Derello

Inspired by Audre Lorde’s practice of dream-mothering (which included keeping track of her own dreams, applying lessons from her dream and her children’s dreams to her parenting, and making a space for her daughter to share dreams with her) and by the impact of her dreams on her life-saving poetry, this will be an evening of dream-sharing and poem making.

Refreshments based on the favorite foods of the wise mamas will be served and copies of Laboring Positions which features Alexis Pauline Gumbs’s essay “Daughter Dreams and the Teaching Life of Audre Lorde” will be available for sale.

All are welcome!

(Look out for Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines coming out this fall from PM Press http://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=746 )