Where once it was “me and I” inhaled—now “us and we” exhaling Birthed through pangs of willing submission, full surrender On this two-becoming-one journey Starting in the acknowledgement that you are his and he is yours Two lives entwined together as one Two as one in love
LOVE …
Its timing unpredictable Its expression unmistakably mirrored in coded smiles, secret glances, gentle touches Its evolution purposed by God In the way it’s transformed you, conformed you, molded you, connected you Two lives entwined together as one Two as one in love
Afterword: I wrote and recited this piece for two of my dearest friends on the occasion of their wedding.
T-shirts are arguable the most functional piece of clothing in our closets. More recently I’ve come across Tees used as signposts for thoughts/feelings/stance on a range of issues making them artistic creative statement apparels.
Statements like:
Unapologetically dope
I never lose, I either win or I learn
Periodt. [oh yeah, when the “t” is added (“periodt”), you know no further discussion will be tolerated]
I’m not for everyone
I love the skin I’m in
Classy but thou shalt not try me. Mood 3:65 [I really like this one, it’s feisty with a nod to “commandment”-level caution/warning]
You want my rhythm?! You gotta take my blues.
Black lives matter
So it seems whether solidarity or protest, whether reclaiming space or questioning narratives, the messages we champion on our chests can contribute to how we’re understood in the world.
Particularly when you’re part of any group that has been OTHERED in the mainstream, the message on a T-shirt is one way to articulate a point without a direct action (like the caveat to start what may otherwise be a difficult conversation).
Whether challenging racial inequality or promoting body positivity or questioning gender inequities, when you can mirror what you think/feel (emotional level) with words prominently worn on your chest/close to your heart (aesthetic level), it’s as if your WHOLE self culminates in your fashion choice.
Before-word: As I’m spending more time building this blog, I’ve been thinking a lot about writing—the art of writing and the power of the written word. I love to write. And chances are if you’re on this site, you’re a blogger which means you also love to write. Or, you’re here because you love to read. Either way, I hope you enjoy this short piece where I share the reasons why I write and the value I place on the written word. As well as a poem along the same theme, “Writing Is”.
To as far back as I can remember, I wrote what I could not or wished not to vocally express. Words help me unlock what I think and feel subconsciously. And, writing is the process through which I can harmonize and connect my mind (inner thoughts and feelings) with lived experiences.
Writing is a powerful tool—it can create, influence, inform, and communicate. In fact, I’d say it’s arguably the best connector. Writing connects us to each other and it connects stories, experiences and cultures across time and space. When you read the writings of a writer from eons past, for instance, it allows you into her/his mind and into the experiences of that period. In this way writing transcends time.
Writing allows for creative self-expression reflective of the state we’re in. Ideas and experiences change as we grow and what’s once written can be updated with our evolved thoughts, expounding on the past and being influenced by the present.
Because the written word immortalizes thoughts and feelings, as a writer I know I must be authentic. Authenticity requires vulnerability, transparency and truth—first to myself and then to the subject at hand. And writing in this way requires bravery. Bearing all of this in mind when I write, gives my voice a trustworthy platform that I hope readers discern.
When all is said and done though, I write for this one reason: so that my voice does not die within me unexpressed and unheard!
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. Maya Angelou
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Word of the day: INTROSPECTION— to observe/examine your own mental & emotional processes
You have a voice—not just the sound you utter through your mouth; but the power to express your opinion and attitude. Be bold and confident and own that voice in your head. Your voice is the embodiment of who you are—your voice is your YOU. Speak up and speak out. Your opinion matters and it doesn’t matter if it’s from a unique perspective. You don’t live in the world the exact same way everyone else does, then why would your opinions and viewpoints be exactly the same?
Speaking your truth means first knowing your voice. It requires introspection—to examine what’s going on in your mind (mental check-in) and the emotional processes you go through. It also requires respecting your voice by not allowing yourself to be silenced or intimated; but, to instead speak your truth with confidence and grace.
Your voice is also your attitude and self-expression—the way you dress, your gait, the way you style your hair and even the way you gesticulate. Speak/dress/wear/express your truth boldly and with confidence.
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Thanks for reading. You can interact with this post/me by hitting any of the “share this” icons below or the “like” star or “leave a comment” or “follow”.
Before-word: This piece was written in response to the following questions I’ve been asking myself in the wake of protests to social injustice across the globe: How many times can a people be stretched before their elasticity is extended beyond its capacity to bounce back and they snap instead? What do you do when as a people you feel you’re losing your ability to bounce back?How much longer can a people hope when they see no signs of change but distress, oppression, mistreatment, hurt and abuse instead? What do you do when as a people you feel forgotten, forsaken and left hoping for hope?
If likened to a clay pot that falls, breaking is inevitable. And like broken clay, discarding is also inevitable. Or if efforts are made to put it back together, the cracks will be evident and the original beauty seems lost. Scarred. Scarred for life. No longer fit for display.
The Japanese art of repairing broken pottery—KINTSUGI (also known as kintsukuroi)—literally translated to mean “golden repair”, is practiced from the philosophy of treating breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
This unique art form, when reimagined in the context of human broken experiences, can inspire a sense of hope.
Right now we are in the breaking.
We are a people yearning for change, looking for hope, wanting restoration. The price for change is the brokenness long endured in our bodies, in our psyche and now magnified for the world to see.
How can the “art of precious scars” give a sense of hope at this time?
In the case of pottery, though broken and fragmented, through a change process of applying a precious liquified metal each broken piece is reconnected and the piece is brought back together again. And because no two objects break in the same way, each restored piece is a unique work of art not to be hidden away but displayed.
In the case of a people—each restored and made whole to highlight and enhance the breaks; each a one-of-a-kind work of art more valuable than before the breaking—can lead to collective restoration. A collective change.
What if we use these experiences of injustice, these tears, the magnitude of these hurts, the enormity of these losses to inspire CHANGE? Like liquified precious metal it can bind our individual and collective breaking into a restored community.
This is the essence of resilience—what I call bounceBACKability! This can be a recipe for hope.
Before-word: This short essay is thanks to my reaction to a nature show on NatGeo. There I was immersed in the wonders of life in the deepest part of the ocean and I thought: “wow…all of this was spoken into existence”! [clearly, I’m a creationist]. Then I got to thinking about the power of the words I speak to myself and the power of words generally and this essay is the outcome of all the musings.
The universe and ALL that we know came into being because God SAID it! But He did more than just spoke (communicating His thoughts, feelings, plans), He declared — made a public announcement, an explicit assertion.
In the act of DECLARING He spoke: let there be … and there was! Let there be roses and light and trees and fish and water and giraffe and oxygen and salt and atom and stars and gold and nebula and starfish and diamond and matter and … you get the picture? Check this out — God declared: LET THERE BE LIGHT! And voila — because He IS light, light came spewing from His mouth, gushing at 299,792,458 meters per second. WOW!!
Everything God declared now is!
Of course He went a step further when it came to mankind because although He had already spoken into existence cells and blood and all the other ingredients required to speak human-life into being, He chose instead to hand-form and breathe-into and man was created not just for his own existence but so that in him life could be replicated over and over again.
But, after God created man He spoke, He made a declaration that it was not just good but “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). God said the universe in all its majesty was good but after He made man, He said it was VERY good.
I think ... the power that is in speaking and in making declarations has eluded us
It is God who said “the tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21).
Seems it is easier for us to use the tongue to speak “death” as we make declarations like:
I can’t do that – killing off our dreams before they’ve had the chance to live outside our thoughts;
I’m not good enough — killing off our potential before God’s purpose can be manifested in us;
I’m not pretty enough — killing off our beauty before the world can see who we really are;
I’m not smart enough …, rich enough …
I don’t have the right job …, right car …, right house
It’s not the right time.
Yes, we use the power of the tongue and make declarations — but declarations unto death! And it is therefore no wonder that we have exactly what we declare. There is, indeed, power in words and in the act of declaring.
After years of death-speaking into my own life I’ve learned the power of life-talk and now I make declarations like:
I can, I’m pretty enough, smart enough, rich enough!
I have the right job, the right car, the right house!
No one can fulfill the purpose I was created for!
No one can do it, write it, recite it the way I can!
No one can do the job, pick up folks in a car, welcome them to a home like I can!
And this is the time, for I’m here for such a time as now!
Why do we live in depravity, scarcity, doubt? Because we ask not. Because we keep silent. Because we do not make life-like declarations. If the all-powerful God who could think things into existence chose instead to speak, what about us?
Why do you keep silent? Speak out! Declare! Effect change!
He didn’t change She fell in love With the him he wanted her to see To steal What she wouldn’t give an imposter Unmasked— Her love knows not this man she sees
After-word: I wrote this piece long before masking became part of global health guidelines. Today we mask-up to protect our immune systems from an unseen predator—the novel corona virus. So for that reason, follow the golden rule of masking: mask-up for others as you’d have them mask-up for you.
However, when I wrote this piece it was based on reflecting on deception masked as truth and when unmasked the toll it takes on the heart-system.
Before-word: This piece was written based on the culmination of experiences of those of us who’ve encountered a lying, deceitful, manipulator who masqueraded as love. Who among us haven’t had such an encounter? This is a live recording of a recital of D.O.A. at the Bowery Poetry Café (NY City).
[click the “play” icon to watch live recital of D.O.A]
A collection of writing by Dominic Riccitello — intimate conversations, personal essays, and poetic reflections on relationships, loss, and self-discovery.
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