do you see yourself here?

SLOWLY: a plainsong from an older woman to a younger woman

am I not....olden olden olden
it is unwanted.

wanting,..wanting
am I not....broken
stolen....common

am I not crinkled cranky poison
am I not glinty-eyed and frozen

am I not....aged
shaky....glazing
am I not....hazy
guarded....craven

am I not....only
stingy....little
am I not....simple
brittle....spitting

was I not....over
over....ridden?

it is a long story
will you be proud to be my version?

it is unwritten.

writing,..writing
am I not....ancient
raging....patient

am I not....able
charming....stable
was I not....building
forming....braving

was I not....ruling
guiding....naming
was I not....brazen
crazy....chosen

even the stones would do my bidding?

it is a long story
am I not proud to be your version?

it is unspoken.

speaking, speaking
am I not....elder
berry
brandy

are you not wine before you find me
in your own beaker?

Judy Grahn

“Slowly: a plainsong from an older woman to a younger woman” from love belongs to those who do the feeling: New & Selected Poems (1966-2006). Copyright © 2008 by Judy Grahn.

when i was a young feminist judy grahn was at every poetry reading reading her common woman poems (see some here). i once painted the text of one onto my kitchen wall.

the woman's boat

- Toni Childs Lyrics

She Who continues.

She Who has a being

named She Who is a being

named She Who carries her own name.

She Who turns things over.

She Who marks her own way, gathering.

She Who makes her own difference.

She Who differs, gathering her own events.





She Who gathers, gaining

She Who carries her own ways,

gathering She Who waits,

bearing She Who cares for her


own name, carrying She Who

bears, gathering She Who cares

for She Who gathers her own ways

carrying

the names of She Who gather and gain,

singing: I am the woman, the woman




the woman -- I am the first person.

and the first person is She Who is the first person to

She Who is the first person to no other. There is no

other first person.

She Who floods like a river and

like a river continues

She Who continues


Judy Grahn