Origins

In Issue 1 by Heather Gehron-Rice

I

Stardust
and
a twinkle in your eye
converge,
you and I become we.
We love and become us.

A seed becomes a tree.
A mighty redwood,
statuesque
ever reaching higher.
A cedar of Lebanon,
wizened
bearing witness as centuries go by.

Their roots a deep foundation.

A dandelion,
numberless as the
stars in the sky
wild and untamed.
Their seeds take to air,
carrying wishes
and potential.

A divine spark
the same potential in us all
drives passion,
life and circumstance the only limit.

The same divine spark
starts a fire.
The old must die
that the new may live.

II

Scars tell our story.

Hidden deep inside,
a secret shared seldom
if ever.

Masked by great beauty,
as a pearl hides a grain of sand,
an oysters pain.

Open for all to see,
stark and grotesque
a testament to survival
nothing to hide our pain.

Transformed by passion,
and our will to transcend
we name them:
Art
Music
Literature

All wounds from our beginnings
a pattern set,
difficult to change.

Our beginnings,
different stories in different places.
As always, we begin where we are
because we can
do nothing else.

III

History recorded.
Parchment, paper and canvas
all subject to the ravages of time.

Herstory.
Hidden fragments
lost to time and shame,
jealousy and hatred.
The tale of war hints
a larger and forgotten story.

In spite of this
we cannot erase what is written
deep inside our bones.

Some far day hence
our bones will reveal the tale
hidden deep within.

When parchment, paper and canvas
all have turned to dust.
The story of our mothers will
once again be told.

About the Author

Heather Gehron-Rice

Heather is a graduate of J.P. McCaskey HS and an alumnae of Hood College, Frederick, MD. She is a veteran of the United States Coast Guard with three Humanitarian and a National Defense medals. Heather lived in Cape May, NJ, Governors Island,New York City and Cape Cod, MA before moving back to Lancaster City on Tuba Christmas in 1999. Heather earned her Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 2007. She is a recovering perfectionist and a voracious reader with a strong commitment to social justice. Heather enjoys swimming and is currently spending a lot of time at the pool!

Read more work by Heather Gehron-Rice .

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