And When You Leave, Take Your Pictures With You

By Jo Corillo

Our white sisters
radical friends
love to own pictures of us
sitting at a factory machine
wielding a machete
in our bright bandanas
holding brown yellow black red children
reading books from literacy campaigns
holding machine guns bayonets bombs knives
Our White sisters
radical friends
should think
again.

Our white sisters
radical friends
love to own pictures of us
walking to the fields in hot sun
with straw hat on head if brown
bandana if black
in bright embroidered shirts
holding brown yellow black red children
reading books from literacy campaigns
smiling.
Our white sisters radical friends
should think again.
No one smiles
at the beginning of a day spent
digging for souvenir chunks of uranium
or cleaning up after
our white sisters
radical friends

And when our white sisters
radical friends see us
in the flesh
not as a picture they own,
they are not quite sure
if
they like us much.
We're not as happy as we look
on
their
wall

Buying a New Dryer

I relish sharing time spent with her.
I'll take whatever chances I can get.
The eggs taste a bit like soft, salty rubber
But the pancakes are filled with cheesecake crust
and smothered in bright red syrupy strawberries
These portions are too large
and she doesn't eat leftovers
but, luckily, I live off of them

"You should start charging for your services,
All you need is a business card."
I show her mine, telling her she can keep it.
She hands it back.
"Meet anyone interesting lately?"
Somebody from Finland they share no mutual friends with.
I ask the questions,
she answers them,
as we pace through the rows of giant home appliances.

Who knew how far technology had come?
These dryers with moisture sensors that automatically turn off when the clothes are dry
All kinds of speeds with all kinds of temperatures for all kinds of fabrics
All on one large, shiny knob
After two hours, the old dryer still left the clothes damp and moist
We had put up with it for years.
What took so long?

How far have we come?
Since those quiet afternoons following the busy days of school,
when I played my video games while she collected her stickers and crafts.
This is a rare moment
to spend a little more time together
over this holiday errand,
purchasing a new dryer for the home we are leaving behind,
this home that raised us.

Wild Honey Smells of Freedom

"Wild honey smells of freedom
The dust — of sunlight
The mouth of a young girl,
like a violet
But gold — smells of nothing."

- Anna Akhmatova

Russian poet, from her poem "Wild Honey Smells of Freedom"

Do it anyway.. .

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

-credited to Mother Teresa