Kelly messaged me on Friday afternoon. I was taking a nap. I’d just brought my sister home from the hospital where she’d had her second knee replacement. She was on the exercise machine. It seemed a good time on a dreary Friday afternoon to indulge myself. Nothing sweeter.

But Kelly was frustrated. She and her girls from ThinkPeace Workshops were organizing an art installation in Albany to honor the countless dead from violence and wars. She had wanted the girls to read poetry, but couldn’t find anything that wasn’t violent or saccharine. Did I have any suggestions…

Although I’m writing more and more poetry, I’m actually not very well versed in the canon, so I started thinking… and then I started writing. girls, peace, girls, peace, girls, peace… I soon had 6 connected poems, peace and girls are actually things I think a lot about, even more since Kelly and Liz have entered my life via Facebook. So I sent off what I’d written.

Saturday came and went. and then Sunday I heard from Kelly that they’d read the poems and they’d worked. Then I heard from a woman in Sacramento. She and her daughter read the poems and they worked. I was/am ecstatic. Then Kelly posted on her Thinkpeaceworkshop blog:  Go read the fabulous story about their participation in the One Million Bones project. And she posted my poetry. I’m so grateful to have been able to support this project, these women, these girls. And Peace. Anything we can do for Peace.

Check this out. It’s called Bearing Witness.