Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST March 11th 2022

6 Comments

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this session!

For this session we read an excerpt from How to Bloom in Dark Places by Warsan Shire, posted below. 

Our prompt was to begin your writing with “We will…” or “We pledge…”

More details will be posted on this session, so check back again!

Participants are warmly encouraged to share what you wrote below (“Leave a Reply”), to keep the conversation going here, bearing in mind that the blog of course is a public space where confidentiality is not assured.

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Please join us for our next session Monday March 14th at 6pm EDT,  with more times listed on our Live Virtual Group Sessions page.

How to Bloom in Dark Places by Warsan Shire

How many arms do I need to grow to
fight off what scares me?
How many legs to leave?
How many dreams until mother tells
me how to escape this place?
Mother has given me a message.
I must tell the girls, so they can
memorise it too.
If I ever forget, they will remind
Me.

I read to them the words as my mother said them.
We pledge allegiance to our bodies,
We pledge allegiance to fortifying our
girlhood.
We pledge allegiance to water,
to it’s dutiful scarcity,
we do not bow to thirst and the shadow it
casts over our lives.
We will be our own mothers,
We will be the big sisters we never had,
We will be the fathers we almost had
We will fortify our own walls,
We will protect the vulnerable,
We will protect ourselves,
so, we will protect each other.

6 thoughts on “Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST March 11th 2022”

  1. michele348

    We will…

    We will not remain in the background, covered over in withering weeds.
    We will push our way out,
    and stand tall in the life-giving sunlight.
    We will stretch our arms outward,
    extending help to those not as strong.
    We will move forward,
    changing those things about us which need to be changed.

    Our voices are strong and firm.
    We are the mothers, daughters, sisters upon which society rests upon.
    It is our lifeblood that has been shed.
    Together, our voices must be heard and must be acknowledged.

    With arms linked, we step securely into the future… it has to be better… it must be better.

    Like

    Reply
  2. Patricia D.

    As a child I was required each morning in my homeroom class to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
    I, along with my classmates, put my right hand over my heart as I recited these words.
    How is that different from Putin’s and Hitler’s youth groups – who are/were indoctrinate(d) to follow their leaders without questioning what is asked of them?
    Why not, “We pledge to honor all people and bring peace to the world.” as a way to teach our children to love one another?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Terry Hourigan, R.N.

    We will live with the consequences; we will not bitch about it; we will
    accept whatever sacrifices are presented. As the privileged, I can’t begin to
    know where to draw empathy from.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth

    I pledge allegiance
    To the human race
    Of the united people
    Of the world.
    And to this union
    Which together stands
    Many people
    Praying to different gods
    ( or none at all)
    Believing in and actively working
    For liberty and justice for all.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • michele348

      Elizabeth, I really like your rendition of the pledge. We all inhabit this singular planet…what affects one sector will have ripple effects upon another sector We are or should be our brother’s keeper. These last 2 years have taught us that lesson. Linking hands and minds, we are so much stronger than standing alone.

      Like

      Reply

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