Naming

Today I read a poem by Joy Harjo called "Naming" which was about dancing with her Native American sisters, and all it gives to them. I could not help but think of our circle, and immediately wrote this. The last few lines in italics are from Harjo's ending.

Naming

for Laurie, Natalie, and Annmarie

I call my sisters to gather around the table

as the evening falls, and plates of 

sushi and salad appear before us.

White wine lights the center,

and we talk of our educator lives,

our writing lives, how all

things are practice, how 

all things connect.

We have been writers forever.

I tell my sisters

a pen is a mighty force.

It names what is

and what can be.

It helps us travel through

the mind's many paths

and the heart's opening.

It has the power to thread us through

the dark and dawn

and lead us faithfully to the stars.