By the Pond

In Native American culture, they speak about individuals called Contraries. Contraries are considered clowns (not as we think of them) and doing everything backwards-except in battle, they are fierce warriors. They are also considered healers and teachers (especially of children). My poetry is a journey that began as an earthquake of the mind with a sudden traumatic occurrence in 1993. The kind no one else sees but you. As you read, you will walk with me from my now (my present) back to the first poem I ever wrote in 1977. For me, it has been a journey of remembering who I am, who I have been, and who I will fiercely fight with heart, soul, spirit, and mind to continue to be.