ranting and raving, canting and craving.

ranting and raving,
canting and craving.

the lobbying seems pointless, the cause lost.
the fight for women's rights at your own family's cost.
now i crave to be a present mother and wife,
the political struggles no longer my life.

the children grow fast, as you know,
all time without them, is a seed i don't sow.
I crave to be with them, and learn their ways
To be present for each part of their day.

I want to look back and know i was there,
rather than sitting always in this chair.
Activism is great, we should speak out,
teach the kids what it's all about.

Distortion

As a woman there's no getting away from society's distorted obsession with the perfect body, the perfect face, the ideal weight, the 'look'. My daughter is on the precipice of adolescence and is trying to figure out how to 'be' in the world, perfect just as she is in this moment.

So many barricades ahead of her including her own friends, boys (& men), the media machine and Lady Gaga!

My daughter is thoughtful and curious and already has a strong sense of self and belief in who she is. But when she comes home from school asking me if she's ugly it breaks my heart.

For now I will be the mirror that reflects her beauty. The beauty I can see both inside and out until she can see it for herself without distortion, without the veil of self-hatred and ridicule. As I watch her in front of her bedroom mirror she looks at her profile from this side and that, frowning. Finally she grins at her reflection and at me watching her. Head cocked to one side she winks at herself and says ' hey there gorgeous'.

Lucy is 4. she is a vibrant, emotional and expressive child. she wants to be an artist when she grows up.