J. Krishnamurti…

Without passion how can there be beauty? I do not mean the beauty of pictures, buildings, painted women, and all the rest of it. They have their own forms of beauty. A thing put together by man, like a cathedral, a temple, a picture, a poem, or a statue may or may not be beautiful. But there is a beauty which is beyond feeling and thought and which cannot be realized, understood, or known if there is not passion. So do not misunderstand the word passion. It is not an ugly word; it is not a thing you can buy in the market or talk about romantically. It has nothing whatever to do with emotion, feeling. It is not a respectable thing; it is a flame that destroys anything that is false. And we are always so afraid to allow that flame to devour the things that we hold dear, the things that we call important.  ~~ The Book of Life

Today is International Women’s Day. Given that, I wanted to share a poem I wrote in 1994:

Watch Us Stand Strong

 

Long have we walked 
Through the valley of our sadness, 
Searching for a way 
To end all the madness. 
Long have we toiled, 
Silent and unnoticed, 
Suppressing our knowledge 
And our gift to heal the world. 
We are large by number, 
We are small through the ages, 

There are few that have spoken, 
Few that dare to read 
Our pages. 
We are mothers, 
We are daughters, 
We are sisters, 
We are friends; 
We contain the lifeblood, 
And the passion 
Of all the universe 
In our souls. 
We are women, 
Full of knowledge, 
And beauty; 
The Queens of our planet. 
We are home now, 
Watch us stand strong, 
It is time to heal 
Our world.

c. Pamela J. Leavey 1994

Here’s some powerful spoken word from acclaimed poet, national recording artist, actor and activist, John Trudell:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The poem Trudell is reciting is “Reason to This.” It’s featured in his book, Lines from a Mined Mind: The Words of John Trudell.

I’ve seen John Trudell perform a few times with his band, Bad Dog, while living in Los Angeles. They are a must see if you ever have the opportunity.

Trudell is a supporter of: “Give Love Give Life.”