Edison's Stigmata & the Art of Cupping Your Hands

I had gotten up early this AM to do some reading, homework and to act like I am a person who gets up early every morning.  So far I have a cup of coffee, some downloaded readings, and a stack of jalapeño bagels in a crinkly plastic bag.

One step at a time.

If you have not read it yet, I would suggest reading Sonya Renee Taylor's The Body is Not an Apology. In particular, I would recommend the audio version of it, if it is accessible to you. Sonya Renee Taylor was in some of the same circles as I was at a point in time, and her reading voice - her reading or spitting her own words, in particular- is amazing.  The epigraph and prologue, alone, had me tearing up. She writes an ode to her mother's belly in the very beginning of the book that will squeeze, ruin and save you- all in the course of less than two minutes.

It is a necessary read.

As I sit here, gearing up, I am surrounded by a string of lights that have bulbs on them the exact size of my palm. It creates the feeling of light illuminating from my palms, and I find it both comforting and sublime.


be well; be loved,

k.

(image: Anjelica Huston, 1972, Bob Richardson via Secretcinema1 Tumblr)

The Scent of Menthol and the Opening of Eyes

I am swaddled in fleece blankets on a couch, propped up by two, immaculate pillows.  My toes are cold, although they are in woolen socks. I am not sick.  I am merely taking the day to hide out, to read, to write, and to drink coffee while no less than seven candles burn around me - even though it is just after noon.

My nails are a gold-ish, gun metal color.

My favorite incense (a kind I am able to find from time to time- it comes in an orange and white box and is called Autumn Leaves) is releasing a thin stream of smoke from the corner.

(pause)

This semester has offered thick, yet stress-less (knock on wood) lesson. When I think of the things I have learned in just the past year, I realize how little I knew when starting this endeavor. It is a good feeling. A necessary one.

I have been thinking about love and about solitude these days.  About introversion and connection. About holding hands in cold weather. About the cologne you leave on your sweatshirts for me, and my refusal to wash them until I know another will be coming in order to exchange it.

I've been reading a lot lately. Extracurricular tales of witches and Gods and myths and estranged siblings. Listening, too, to Pod Save the People and to various interviews with various people throughout various points in time. Here's one to watch just because of it. Something about assumptions and lessons and learning Guess My Disability.

This Tuesday will see the case of Aimee Stephens in front of the Supreme Court. It revolves around the question of if it is constitutional to fire someone for being trans. If you aren't familiar with this case, this summary is worth watching. It involves a number of trans celebrities reading the beautifu letter that Aimee wrote to her co-workers when she came out.  You can see it, here: Aimee.

This has implications for everyone.


Keep watching. Even when this world gives you all of the reason to look away.



be well, be loved,

k.

(image: A la Vivian Maier via giampixxx tumblr)