nothing else but free

today

i walked up and up

a very tall mountain

overlooking the humble city of freiburg

and all its beautiful people.

I blew a wish into the wind.

a wish of gratitude for the dancers with whom I shared such an intimate week

of listening, holding and sharing.

Then I walked even higher

up and up

and looked

beyond the tip of germany

beyond the sea

up and up

until I could see Finland´s beautiful trees,

Helsinki´s cobblestone streets,

Suvi´s deep and attentive eyes,

Ken´s enormous smile

Cesar´s hand-crafted flutes

Elsa´s dimples

Tim´s warm and accepting presence

I blew a wish that all be well in the hearts and minds of the dear Finnish people

and their quiet, elegant land.

and although the path became quite steep I walked

on and on

up and up

until I could see my lovely Iceland,

who´s cold, stark landscape I will never forget…

the hostel and the short but meaningful connections made,

the wonderful dancers we got to briefly meet.

I blew a wish into the wind for Iceland

to rest safely in its quiet nook

far from the rest of the world.

Then the wind became quite strong and I didn´t think I could walk much more

but I traveled slowly

higher and higher

until I could see

my dear and beloved brooklyn.

it hurt my heart to look,

for so many loved ones are bruised and sad right now.

my home is breaking

my neighborhood community is imploding

much too much pain for my little heart to hold.

so I blew a wish.

well.. I blew a LOT of wishes.

one by one I thought of each friend

who is grappling with grief, depression or romantic heart-break.

and wished for each of them to remember to worship expression.

to yell and stomp until they dance

to dance until they sob

to sob until they sing

to sing until they become smaller and smaller

held by the larger love

of sound.

for this is the only hope we have

the only thing we can do

to express

to fall down

and cradle ourselves.

dearest friends of brooklyn,

please keep singing

please keep stomping

please keep laughing

laugh SO loud that you have to gasp for more breath

for more life

keep gasping for life.

but then I walked even further up and saw more of brooklyn---

the pain and struggle beyond my own community and home.

the stop and frisk policy is still at work----

demeaning and subjecting Latin and black people

holding them as criminals from only a glance

the trans community is being beaten and mocked

those without the basic necessities are being stripped more and more

impoverished communities are denied funds for a substantial education.

much too much to fix on my own.

I sent a wish that I will continue to fight for justice for everyone----

that I won´t rest in the comfort of my privileged skin color

that I´ll remember everyday the people

squashed down by a racist system,

the millions of people of color

imprisoned in cells or in their lives.

I sent a wish that I will give as much as I can give to this world.

I will love myself SO MUCH

that there will be an overflow into the world.

With everything I saw from above

my final wish

was...

for a moment…

to have the wind blow away all my thoughts,

all my dreams

and lift me into the sky

please help me to surrender

everything I know

everything I´ve seen

and fall into the grace

of

nothing else

but free.