The title of this post is inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem, Still I Rise. Deborah, a dear friend and poetess from England, sent it to me in her comment after my recent post, The Poison of Misogyny: V. In light of yesterday’s presidential election, and in case you didn’t read her comment, I’d like to share it here.
Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
~ Maya Angelou
Today, the day after the election, Pat, another dear friend, texted me the following poem and above image:
Last night I dreamed
ten thousand grandmothers
from the twelve hundred corners of the Earth
walked out into the gap,
one breath deep
between the bullet and the flesh,
between the bomb and the family.
They told me
We cannot wait for governments.
There are no peacekeepers boarding planes.
There are no leaders who dare to say
every life is precious,
so it will have to be us.
They said
We will cup our hands around each heart.
We will sing the earth’s song, the song of water,
a song so beautiful that vengeance
will turn to weeping,
the mourners will embrace,
and grief replace
every impulse toward harm.
Ten thousand is not enough, they said,
so we have sent this dream,
like a flock of doves
into the sleep of the world.
Wake up. Put on your shoes.
You who are reading this,
I am bringing bandages
and a bag of scented guavas from my trees.
I think I remember the tune.
Meet me at the corner.
Let’s go.
~ Aurora Levins Morales
I don’t know who created the image. Sister Ann, a nun who works to educate and empower migrant workers and their families in Apopka, FL sent it to Pat. If you know whose art this is, please let me know so I can give her credit. I assume it’s a “her”. Note: Aladin sent her name: Angie King. See his comment below.
God bless us, every one.
Jean Raffa’s The Bridge to Wholeness and Dream Theatres of the Soul are at Amazon. Healing the Sacred Divide can be found at Amazon and Larson Publications, Inc. Jean’s new Nautilus Award-winning The Soul’s Twins, is at Amazon and Schiffer’s Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit. Subscribe to her newsletter at www.jeanbenedictraffa.com.
18 Responses
I appreciate your work. I do think many people are missing the bigger picture in this election. The US government and yes, all of us, its citizens, are the Nazis now.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wVqAWunYBaJfFzha8
God has a larger plan in mind for us and no it is not going to feel good. But it is necessary.
This is much bigger than gender.
I hear you. I was just talking to someone else who said the same thing. You’re right, of course. It is much bigger than gender. It’s about how leaders and citizens get to the point where they value power and control over compassion for others. That’s not a gender thing. And it’s not a function of one political party or another. Thank you for bringing this issue to the table. Jeanie
Dearest Jeanie,
Believe me when I say, I’m deeply honoured that you call me ‘friend’. Amazingly, I’ve never read Aurora’s poem “Summons” before … I ab-soul-utely love it! Thank you so much for sharing both poems, each strikes a chord in my mind, body, spirit and soul … for in life’s difficult moments I turn to poetry, always … as I did yesterday. The artwork you shared at the top of this post is so on point and I believe its creator is a woman too.
I’ve just watched Kamala’s heartfelt concession speech. Amazingly, it felt as though the Divine Feminine, Herself, was speaking through Kamala. It was everything, everything I hoped and longed to hear after the election results were announced. Oh, never before has the world needed to go on an “Animus Diet”. In fact I’m feeling kind of nudged to let Kamala know all about of my “Soror Mystica” book … maybe I’ll send her a copy!
Love and light your poet friend, Deborah
Of course, you’re my friend, Deborah. We’ve been meeting and dialoging here for at least 9 or 10 years, haven’t we? And it’s been a most satisfying and affirming relationship for me. I call that friendship. 🙂 Unfortunately, I missed Kamala’s speech. You definitely should send her a copy of your book. I should think it would resonate deeply with her. Love and light, your writer friend, Jeanie
Well, I had a quick look on in my notebooks to see that I first visited your blog and it was late autumn 12 years ago, November 2012 although I kind of lurked in the background and didn’t start commenting until the following spring, March 2013. And what a joy it’s been ever since! It’s funny because back then I remember you celebrating your 70th birthday and me celebrating my 50th that year … with me wondering what on earth 70 must feel like?! And here I am today, a week away from my 61st birthday, knowing 70 will be my very own next milestone birthday. Sometimes I don’t know how we even get here my friend, age so quickly I mean, but we do. And oh my, I’m so very pleased to have met you on my path. Big love! x
Twelve plus years. Wow. I’ve been writing this for 14 years. You and Elaine were among the earliest soul sisters and brothers I’ve found along the way. I feel so fortunate that this venue–blogs–were invented in my eldering years and available for me to convey my thoughts about issues that are so important to me to a vast audience of readers. Of course my books did that, but they rarely offered me the opportunity to participate in meaningful dialogues with readers. What a gift you this has been. Big love back to you, Jeanie
Thank you Jean. xoxojo
You’re most welcome, Jo. Thank you for letting me know. xoxoxo
Thank Jean, I have shared this with my granddaughters, Writing group, meditation group, and contemplative circle.
You’re very welcome, Lynnea. I appreciate your sharing this with the women in your life and letting me know you did it. This is exactly how we will continue to rise. So thank you. You give me hope. Jeanie
Thank you, Jeanie, for continuing to be a beacon of thought, wrestle, discernment, support … and encouragement in these times. Catherine
Thank you, Catherine. I’m so grateful for people like you who take the time to encourage me to keep on keeping on! It really helps to have support. Still we rise. Many blessings, Jeanie
First time commenter here, My name is Diana . I came across the wonderful Jean Benedict Raffa maybe two months ago for the first time. An auspicious encounter of a bear sighting had me googling the spiritual message behind it because I tend to look for connections and messages from the natural world when an animal crosses my path. Anyway, in my search, I ‘happened’ across Jean’s blog and she had something about sighting a bear on there which was fascinating , so I started to read more on her blog and was intrigued and everything resonated with me . I couldn’t believe when I saw she was also from central Florida because I live in Longwood, so that felt even more auspicious !!!
I promptly ordered two of her books, and I am nearly finished the Bridge to Wholeness which I am thoroughly enjoying. Since I have been sad and shocked with the election results , something made me look at her blog today to see if perhaps she had any comments and then I found the two beautiful poems so I felt like I had to comment and I do feel like it’s nice to see and feel like-minded people. And to know that even in my area where sometimes I feel like an alien because of such different beliefs that they are women and men who are appalled at what is going on and that we shall indeed rise up. It is indeed beyond gender. I was thinking that , imagine if it were back when say Obama won, and at that time there was a billionaire who owned a platform that could spread disinformation and propaganda and literally had used hundred of millions of dollars to swing an election. America would not have accepted that back then and rightfully so. Because of Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United, billionaires are literally now controlling our elections and we are heading swiftly towards autocracy and oligarchy. It’s crazy and disheartening.
Thanks so much for reading if you’ve got this far Jeannie, so glad I found you ,and you must Google her acceptance speech on YouTube, it really was like the divine feminine was talking through her, I felt with her name meaning lotus and her middle name being Devi which is word for Goddess lol, and all that has happened since 2016 , I really did feel like this time white women, at least more white women anyway would rise to the occasion. But alas, I was wrong. So I am sad.
Xoxox Diana
Dear Diana,
Ha ha! I did get through your whole letter, and I thank you for writing it. And for the kind things you’ve said about me and my books and blog. Making these kinds of connections with other like-minded people and having this kind of discussion was exactly what I was hoping for when I wrote that first post on misogyny. I love it that this has become a forum for expressing honest experiences, feelings, and hopes for the future when it comes to the sexism in America. And I’m delighted to know you live only a few miles down the road!
Your comment about the differences between what has happened between the Obama election and this one is especially pertinent. Our society is definitely in the midst of a new and extremely disconcerting change. This has happened again and again throughout history and chaos has always been the mid-stage in the cycle. It appears that this is inevitable in our evolution into greater consciousness, morality, and love. For one example, the protest and riots about race and the Viet Nam war in the 60’s. I’m just hoping we come out of this cycle into a place that is better for all of us, not just some of us, as we did then.
Thank you for your recommendation about watching Kamala’s acceptance speech. Today someone else said something similar to what you’ve just said. I look forward to watching it.
Thank you for taking the time to write. I appreciate your contributions today on this and another post in this series very much.
Blessings and love,
Jeanie
Hi Jeannie,
You made my night with your reply, thank you so much . I am so happy to have found this community and will look forward to your posts and the comments of others too. I too feel that the current situation is all part of something that collectively the world is going through, we don’t know how it will play out , none of us know, but I take comfort in believing that at some level it is playing out as it should and that we do as you say end up evolving into greater consciousness, love and morality.
Morality in particular is what I feel is missing so much right now, the fact that over 80 percent of evangelical Christians turned out to vote for the most immoral of men, someone who literally personifies all the traits that we would never want our child to embody, the very opposite of all Jesus’s teachings , it stuns me , I was hoping America would rise to the occasion but it hasn’t. It’s shocking that they fine with enabling a malignant narcissist who staged a coup, who will enrich himself and corrupt our institutions like nothing we have ever seen before. I also think it’s pretty scary now that Trump is definitely playing into the God card, I saw a pastor tell him the other day that he is believed to be a ‘vessel’ for them, there is some serious idolatry going on and it’s very dangerous indeed. They were playing the hymn ‘How great thou art’ the other day in his rally. There’s a culty religious thing going on that is scary indeed.
I’m off to read part four and five now of your excellent series on misogyny, you’re so right about madmen, great show but wow , incredible that it wasn’t that long ago that women were just literally objects and that in some ways yes there has been progress but in others and the current situation we find ourselves in, not so much.
Take care Jeannie, I’m on the chapter in the Bridge to Wholeness on dreams now, I dream so much but most I don’t remember, wish I could remember them more! They are indeed powerful.
You’re welcome, Diana. I’m glad you found this community too.
It’s the lack of an ethical stance, of what used to be called ‘character’, in so many politicians and their followers today, that bothers me the most too. Of course, it’s always been that way, but to see it played out on a world scale where the hypocrisy is no longer in the shadows but in full view not only to Americans but to the whole world, is a shocking display of the brokenness of our society.
My point is that whether our brokenness is caused by capitalism, the education system, a collective mentality of consumerism and materialism, or a combination of these and other factors, it originates not in man-made systems “out there”, but in powerful nature-made psychological realities “in here” that we are unwilling to address in a serious, committed way. Until we wake up to our own brokenness, it is our own shadows that will destroy us and everything we love.
If the other book of mine that you ordered is Dream Theatres of the Soul, you’ll find that it addresses the problem of not remembering our dreams. If we’re looking for a teacher to help us become more self-aware, we’ll find it by working on our dreams. The Self, your dream-maker who knows everything about you, is your inner guide to wholeness.
Blessings and love, Jeanie
With this post, you have inspired us all to stand up and keep moving forward, my dear Jeanie. I saw and read Deborah’s excellent choice on Facebook. In her last speech, Kamala Harris said, “It must be dark to see the stars!” So, let’s keep going!🤗🙏💖
By the way, the image is by Angie King.
https://twitter.com/pickaspoonie/status/1324133718760525824
Thank you, Aladin. And thank you for the name of the artist who created this image. I don’t subscribe to X so never thought to look for it there. I can’t wait to see Kamala’s speech. I’ll be watching it today. Love and blessings, Jeanie