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exist as a lightning bolt;

strike quickly.
strike fervently.

strike purposefully

through the far reaches
of the hollow stomach

of the sky---
to the brightest degree you allow.

:::

our gift of living

is as insignificant as a blink

of lightning;

our gift of living, augmented

by the life of our contributions,

rolls and tumbles

like a boulder-avalanche

of thunder.

:::

She

stood before the crowd and said,

"Today, I stand between the shoulders

of men. I am smaller in stature. I am

am shorter in height. My voice is higher

in pitch upon delivery. I am suppressed

from the the edge of my skin to the

schemas of my womanhood. Today,

I stand between the shoulders of men.

I am smaller in stature. I am shorter

in height. My voice is higher in pitch

upon delivery. I have not put myself

in between but at the center of a truth

which no longer can be suppressed.

Today, I stand in the center of the shoulders

of men. I stand with my feet

on this platform, whose feet beside

me lay equally."

:::

i have learned now

to spend smaller moments

with more of myself.

:::

when we hear we are missed by another

it is not a sentiment that leads

promiscuously to the breasts of our ego;

it is a nostalgia of love that remains

warm---

a fresh loaf of bread welcoming

a taste for a later time.