The following is a poem that my friend Liz LaVenture wrote after the Ghost Ship tragedy in Oakland. She has graciously allowed me to reprint it. I find it beautiful in the power of her language.
Ghost Ship
People on the edge –
Seeking.
Creative, innovating minds –
Searching.
Intersecting oppressions –
Rejecting.
Intersecting life experiences –
Coalescing.
Men, Women,
People of Color, Latina/o, White,
Gay, Straight,
Cis, Trans,
or Gender Fluid –
Together. –
Searching, Creating –
a new Way.
A New Life –
of Affirmation,
Acceptance –
Creatively, Peacefully
in Harmony.
Gone, Dead –
Erased in a Flash of Flame –
a Cloud of Smoke.
Sailing a Sea of Dreams –
on a Ghost Ship.
Liz e LaVenture – 12/09/16