misc quotes

Boz Scaggs crooned "Once a story's told, it can't help but grow old..." to many a brokenhearted dorm mate long ago. I pondered the beautiful song all these years & finally disagree with this line even though it is perfect for the song. A living story does not necessarily grow old, I think. It is ever fresh & ever renewing. I'd like my heart, my mind, my spirit to be like that even if my body cannot be. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I am learning more & more how to love me for being me, how to see myself as important esp. to me, & how to be kind & gentle with me. It's a road still under construction I travel, but the scenery is interesting - sometimes surreal, sometimes gothic, sometimes stellar, sometimes breath-taking - & it's all me. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Imagination, fantasy not escapes but playful work of creation, inventiveness, of finding patterns, solving puzzles, of living life & love. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Sometimes in dreams I see you, a deeper you, my deeper thoughts, feelings, a type of prayer. Sometimes in dreams a crazy reality surfaces, reminding of a wider humanity or a bigger meaning. Sometimes in dreams it is the smallest detail that tells the tale. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Too many believe a male & a female cannot be friends but what sexual play must be involved. How sad for our world to fear real friendship or sexual play and to confuse one with the other. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Thunder roared as lightning flashed, the deluge rolled down the mountain. Luna dog, Mischa cat, & I were on my hospital bed enjoying the storm while the rest of the household slept soundly. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I sing Berlin's lines from West Side Story "someday will find a new way of living; we'll find there's a way of forgiving. Somewhere there's a place for us..." & pray, hope, dream, & long for such a time & a place to be here. We can do it if we wanted to do so... if our will to do so were strong enough. It will never be enough to tear down or allow the old system to fall. The new way must be built right here beside the old one... here, now, by us. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Sometimes I feel it is important to offer encouragement as a sister & friend despite no response from the one encouraged, sometimes even despite unfairness from the encouraged one, but only for as long as my heart says it is ok. Then I go silent or leave altogether. But, I always felt it was compassion & kindness when I was offered encouragement when I did not know how or could not respond. I like passing this gift forward. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Sweetness, gentleness, kindness, compassion, & other good qualities are not weaknesses at all. Only the most ignorant of predators or the most flagrant of con artists would believe this. True goodness is forged in multiple refining fires, yielding a strength that is awe inspiring and even frightening to behold. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Heart ablaze, mind fluid, spirit arises, twirling & undulating, love aglow as voice sings creation of self & beckons joining. Come, dance, my beloved. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I dreamed the stars into my being to find the twinkling already within. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

One of the things I tried to install in me but ran into repeated "incompatible file formats" was to be authentic in every way. This included not allowing myself to run merely on automatic drive but to allow me to act deliberately even randomly daily so as not to be in a rut or easily stalked. It really isn't hard to stalk someone who stays in her cave though, is it? My forays out usually include me getting extremely exhausted & often hurt or in some kind of trouble... usually of a hurt feelings/confused Daphne sort. So, I declared my trog-like qualities to be random enough & my authentic file format. Phooey on installing new drivers, eh? ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Away I'll run, dancing up upon roofs, waving at the stars, singing love songs to the moon. I'll be all clothed in just me & smiles, a giggle or three, & the dog & the cats will join in merrily. We'll cuddle up tightly, calling to distant planets to see if they'd care to join in for a nighttime nap. Then the meteors begin to dance as we drift off into the never never land of our souls. I wish you were on the rooftop too. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I am not the only walker between worlds. I am not the only weaver of peoples. A storyteller to touch hearts & minds, a musician to touch souls, a poet, a writer, a dreamer, a crazy person to most eyes, no, I am not the only one. But, a throng of many harmonizing even in discordancies through many ages, many beings, many places, many manys. I hold them all within & without, needing them all. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Concessions from the Powerful are the only ''Rights'' you will ever have. They are Concessions only - temporary, convenient. Show weakness & they will be removed. NEVER forget this. ~ Alan Cranswick

True. Which is why we must fight the same battles throughout our lives & in each generation. BUT, that does not mean we & all living do not have rights & responsibilities. Rights get stolen, co-opted, corrupted, erased...... Responsibilities get perverted, added to, co-opted, corrupted....... The Powerful truly believe they own you, me, the whole planet as their own personal playhouse. And, the less powerful will climb over you, back-stab you, kill or sell their own mother or child... whatever it takes to get ahead. Never forget this so you are aware & prepared WHILE at the same time holding onto as much goodness of heart & mind as you can muster - for your own sanity & peace of mind if for no other reason. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Some, if not most, of us are invisible & made to seem/be non-human because the Powerful taught us to un-see & then to see only what we are taught to see. Then we, in turn, don't see because we refuse to see AND also refuse to un-learn un-seeing. To be fairer to us, having our illusions shattered & facing the truth of the lies we believe - & the sheer extent of those lies! - is painful, & the hard work of healing that betrayal then of re-learning is also painful. It is worth it, but most of us will not even try to do it. We cling to the lie that seeing the truth of our situation will cost us too much, that we'll lose too much, or that it is better to be among the herd than alone in our knowing. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I was most often told I was ugly, but in my heart & mind I determined I'd be beautiful even if no one ever knew it. I was most often told I was unlovable, but in my heart & mind I determined I'd be loving even if no one ever loved me as I am. I was most often told I was too fat to live or to be acceptable living as me, but in my heart & mind I determined I would live until it was my time to go & not leave a moment sooner. What I was most often told was cruelly untrue & I had believed it for so long, but in my heart & mind I determined I could go on, heal, & become all I was told was impossible for me never knowing I had been all these things & more all along. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

What also annoys me & sometimes outright discourages me is that so few want to understand system structures of power & responsibility. Israel is the 3rd most powerful military nation but with the support of all its allies is way beyond #1 & therefore has the total responsibility & culpability in these war atrocities & almost completed genocide. Our world seems hell-bent to blame victims in most if not all situations & to side with the aggressors/bullies/evil rather than face the dangerous & hard-work of dismantling the lucrative system & building one that is based on real justice, real mercy, & real anything for ALL.

And before anyone whines & lies by saying that I hate Jews, Israel, or anyone else, let me be even more abrasively clear - I am anti- NO one or country or people, BUT I also make those responsible for wrongs (including myself) hold/own the responsibility of those wrongs. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I said I loved you, & I spoke truly. But, I did not say or mean I want sex, romance, or entanglement. I love you as a dear treasure, a friend, true family, as someone I admire & respect. This is a longer & stronger love than mere sex or romance. And, I frightened you. Apologies to the wind for you some day to grow to understand. For me, someday to grow to understand. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Such fragility in strength, strength in fragility, like silken cords or spiders' strands in webs, beautiful indestructible finite heart threads. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

The sentiment "there's nothing between us - we're just friends" disturbs me deeply. Friendship is so valuable a love that it hurts to hear it disrespected like this. Sex is such a sacred bonding of two people that it hurts to see it disrespected this way. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

The music haunts me still, flying on chills up my spine to my nipples, chasings up & down my arms in goose flesh, & exploding into my brain with "ah!" of pleasure. I dream of far away places I'll never see with these eyes, yet feel so deeply within me that I must be a ghost refugee from there somehow. Dreams, prayers, soul songs, I kiss the sky for the wonders to touch me so. On the wings of music I send back my love. Does another ghost refugee somewhere hear me & feel this same haunting chill? ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

You prance through the forest playing your pipes, luring & alluring. Flitting from tree to tree in a giggly game of peek-a-boo, the nymph dances dressed in the flowers & leaves in her dark almost black hair that shines red in the sun's rays. Sitting in the oldest part of the forest, the pan flute painting a desire of primeval dance, your flute grows, Piper, as you pretend not to notice the nymph's steps just beyond your easy reach. Aha! A lilting laugh, sparking eyes in the sometimes dappling sun rays, the dance is wild, untamed, then free of restraints as the dancer leads a merry chase through the forest while the sun & the pipes try to grab her. Here. There. Flitting, flitting, just out of reach then vanished to reappear many trees further. Then gone. A shimmering tree standing by the river sways in the wind beckoning to the winner to take the laurel crown. Noble love, entwines the roots & the branches but meets in the trunk. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

The children scream in agonized fear for mothers rammed with sadistic shafts of raging bloodlust full covetous greed for power & wealth in a massacre from centuries of conflict for crossroads for resources & continents. Run to that ancient stronghold to weep, defend, & die. The Rock of the Arabs will sing the ancient songs of lament, grief, death, martyrdom, & hope with you as you now face your time of choice to die or to die. The weapons this time include effects lasting for millenia to come, but these start in torturous villainy now as your innocents perish. Damascus, Damascus, if only weeping could stop the evil befallen you. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Atop a precipice viewing foggy mountain, hearing the roaring of water or fire somewhere below, I fall. Falling, falling, down down down falling into a death spiral unto flight downward through a shattering of illusion that becomes perception that becomes awareness that becomes a type of knowing that is still lost, I see a new vista that seems real until a haloed smoke ring surrounds me. Is this real? Laughter from a hookah-smoking caterpillar on a mushroom. Foggy mountains again. More illusion. Do I dream?  A butterfly flaps it wings, smiles. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

The needle, the spoon, the dot, the bottle, the trips all difficult to watch the damage done as a living soul is devoured, but worse a trip perhaps are some pains that cannot be faced, not uttered but merely covered, denied... denials deeper & more damaging that long-term free-flowing radiation or other poisoning. No wonder our ancestors despised poisoners so. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Another young African-American black male dead by firearm, another one imprisoned, & the drumbeat of genocide beats on. It is structural, intentional design, & ubiquitous. Emmett Till's grave is overflowing while the party continues atop with the tune of he had it coming...but none did. Where are the tears of remorse for the holocausts we profit by to secure our exceptionalism, our easier way of life? And, another mother grieves. Where are the sons eaten by the predators we are? ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Yes, I want to bomb Syria & the whole world with love, kindness, good food, clear water, clothing, cloth, books, whatever would make lives easier, happier, healthier, & more beautiful. Let's send in rescuers & love caravans. All those in leadership positions of any kind need fired immediately. Some need prison sentences for life! As Michael Jackson once sang, "All I wanna say is they don't really care about us." ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Yes, I am a mess. Crazy, too. But, what beautiful insanity! Care to join me? ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

When I asked why I must make up a boyfriend to protect myself while I was in school, I was told it was because jerks would leave me alone if they thought I had a male in my life. Being ever the skeptic, I then asked if 16 pounds pressure on the tip of the nose or 6 pounds pressure on the collar bone might be easier & more effective? I was told I should have no worries then. And, here I had a reputation as a very quiet, gentle young woman. My motto must have been "walk softly & carry a sword." ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Quick! Let's behave really well & make them wonder why we're smiling. It'll drive them crazy. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

misc quotes

I am trying my best to help be a platform for healing as well as a light shining on the heinous, evil crimes perpetrated by sexualized violence, esp. of our most vulnerable. It is part of why I am more & more vocal/writing about these topics. Too many of us of all genders, all parts of our world... have been destroyed or nearly so. Enough! Healing & protection for the wounded & the defenseless now! I may not be able to do much, but I can be me as I am, tell my story in my way in my time, write, & be a presence that is not easily forgotten. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

How does someone become so evil or so hated even among evil persons?

They fished then pulled his body from the Ohio River. His hands were chained behind his back & chained not just to his waist but also to his neck & ankles. His feet were chained to concrete block booties. His body, which was left identifiable amazingly all considered, sustained several gunshot, dozens of stabbing, & repeated bludgeoning episodes. The official cause of death was suicide by jumping from the bridge into the Ohio. The various officials & even underworld bosses joked that it was a very dedicated suicide. Decades later those still alive to remember, still are happy he is gone by dedicated suicide.

Still... how does anyone become so vile that even evil doers revile the person? This man was truly evil, no mistake there. But, how did he get that way? Are some horrors best left a mystery? Or, are some extreme horrors a necessity to look at straight in the eye & be vanquished? Are there even answers to these kinds of questions? ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Pushed into the fiery furnace to be smelted away into oblivion for the pleasure & entertainment of the overseers, the watchers, the gatekeepers, the caregivers, most disappeared into the forever of death, insanity, addictions, or other evils of the manglers of the young, the defenseless. Traps, snares, lures, chains, prison doors, tortures & sadism now & in the life to come thundered down. Crushed. Destroyed. Lives, Minds, Hearts, Souls. Imprisoned. But the few found a door, a window, a key, a song. Some dared to dance in the flames. To fly up as phoenixes with fire in their beings. No matter how many fires. No matter how much hotter the blaze. Watch them dance on the volcanic eruptions of fire hurled atop them. They dare to smile, to laugh, to sing. They dance. Oh but they dance! ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Did you know that I visit your profile often just to send you a kiss, a blessing, & to say a silent prayer for you & your loved one's safety? Did you know that I care deeply for you even if I have said few words to you here? My quiet presence is pretty much all I have to offer. I am only Daphne, not more nor less, but I am here, playfully watching, waiting, wishing you well. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Does my dance tingle you, vibrate you, bring alive parts or the whole of you that you forgot or wish always forgotten? Does my shimmy arouse, inspire, intoxicate deep inside you until even your skin ripples to a beat not heard by ears? Do you long, yearn, ache for more of the dance you believe is not in you? But, the response to my dance is your dance. Did you not know how wonderfully you move to the invisible beat of hearts? ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

A fox ran across the ramp this morning while Luna dog & I watched her. She stopped briefly to look at us through the French door windows. She seemed to smile. Oddly, Luna did not bark & insist on getting out to chase her. Then I saw why. She was pregnant. I automatically prayed for her safety & wondered at it all. I had so many questions, but the one right then was how to make sure she had plenty of food & shelter. She ran into the thicker part of the forest nearest the house. It was a great choice, I thought & smiled. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I remember making little satchels of pretty flowers - dandelions, clover, violets, whatever I could easily find & pick in the grass & hedgerows - to surprise various women in my neighborhood (Granny, Mom, neighbors...) esp. on 1 May. I spent a lot of time choosing the arrangements, too. I was pre-school & wanted to "give flower rainbow smiles" of love & magic. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I'm learning to take as much time as I need to process my emotional reactions to something before actually responding - esp. when the other person is trying to coerce or manipulate me to answer within that person's time frame only. I have a long way to go, of course. I react badly to manipulation, coercion, aggression... I have a long way to go in taming my own tendencies toward the same. But, I am making progress... slowly. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

When I'd be scolded for fantasizing by (usually religious) people, those same people would demand that I tell them what evil things I was fantasizing about. Every time the fantasy was about kindness - to me & to the world. I was told I was a liar because all fantasies were sexual. I thought I must be extremely broken, a defective human, & a failure at life because my fantasies were about playful joy & kindness but not sexual. Well, ok, to be more honest, some of my fantasies were about quantum physics, space travel, fairy realms, & exploration adventures... but still not sexual. Where did I go wrong?! ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Leave the past behind, live in the now, move forward not backward, or any variation on this tune can be abusive, traumatic, evil, a lie, or merely unhelpful instead of a feel good truism depending on the situation. Simple slogans, if taken only as just that - a simple slogan, can be helpful if held lightly with a good mix of many other simple slogans of seemingly contradictory meanings, with an open mind, and with a a lot of down-to-earth practical horse sense. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

What do I do with "that which has no name?" Many areas of trouble within & without me are annoyances that cannot be resolved until I can get some idea of what I am dealing with, but these insights elude my grasp. If the annoyance is more than a vagueness somewhere, then I can work around it like I do to solve puzzles - one piece at a time until a pattern begins to emerge. Otherwise, I have learned to sit with the problem, observe, & either work on whatever comes to me or allow it to sit percolating while I do something else. Inspiration & even resolution can come suddenly from some of the oddest times & places. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Sometimes I want to be closer to you, but I just don't know how to be. Sometimes I fear you might think of more than I am willing & able to offer & not understand how exhausted even small things can make me. But, that does not stop my heart from wishing I knew you better. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I wish I were beautiful & held in high esteem wherever I went. I wish I were beautiful & desired as chosen & prized when plans are made for buildings, access, & accommodation. I wish I were beautiful & treated with kindness & respect wherever I went or stayed. I wish I were beautiful & celebrated for my character, my mind, my various abilities or budding abilities, & my heart. I wish my beauty were not tied to my size, my color, my race, my gender, or my any other physical only characteristic. I wish I were beautiful & never had to discover that I was left out of something by so-called friends/loved ones because they felt ashamed to be seen with me. I wish I were beautiful, and I am. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

"Fake it until you make it" is another of those supposed truisms I wish came with warning labels & a detailed instruction manual, but would anyone read those anyway? I would have preferred the wording "Practice healthy behaviors until those behaviors are real in you." Not as catchy or sing-songy, I know. And then someone would have to explain what are unhealthy & what are healthy behaviors then show why it is needful. That would lead to looking at a whole bunch of ugly things we humans prefer to hide away & forbid anyone looking at even if that shame is killing us & our future generations. And so, I write even when it is painful & risky to expose myself - even just to me - because I sense deeply there is a joy set before me & for our world if I/we can endure the pain of healing. I'm told this is courageous, & I guess it is. Mostly I think it is just one of those "doing what has to be done" parts of growing up & being a mature person. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Life is the dance, the art, & the poetry. Let's sing among the gardens of our minds & hearts. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

A voice. Even just to be seen, to have my existence validated in a positive way. My authentic self had to hide deeply to keep from being utterly & completely destroyed. It is almost impossible to survive against all odds and to grow, to re-wire, to heal, to learn, to do much of anything at the same time. Survival trumps all. Finding & then understanding the real me has taken decades of hard work on top of all that. And, I am still in process. But, sometimes the real me pops out to play before slipping back into a safer place to rest & re-group. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Listen & watch: the trees dance & sing, clapping their hands in joy. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

As I've said many times before: Ruling the planet would be a piece of cake if you didn't have to deal with the humans. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I am singing & dancing on just heartwaves by my own determination despite all. I might be on my back, in a bad way, in a dump, or any number of other outer circumstances, BUT that's only on the outside. Inside me is an eternal singing & dancing, a heart that refuses to kept down & out. You might see tears & sadness in my eyes, but look deeper. Much deeper. See that twinkle? That's my singing & dancing, truest self. Watch closely lest you miss seeing an arabesque or a shimmy, a pirouette or a jeté, or simply my own undulating joy just to be. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Love, compassion, kindness, loving encouragement & support, tender words, a hug & a kiss on the top of the head of the forehead - even virtual ones count, a feeling of safety & belonging alongside freedom & liberty to be... all these applied by us to ourselves & then outwardly to others - human & non-human - heals deeply, allows us to show our real self - sometimes for the 1st time even to ourselves, & to grow/dance/sing/explore. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

When a whole extended family system as well as the community/ies supporting them keeps adding daily to the pile of lies, abuse, &/or other dysfunctions with no change perhaps for generations, the task for individual trying to break free is beyond daunting. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Everyone knows something that I/we don't know & has a perspective I/we do not have. My/our world & vision grows, deepens, & expands as I/we share respectfully. I need & treasure you, my friends. You teach me so much & help me understand things I could never do without you. Thank you. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

misc quotes

The dancing heart is forever young, Alive, wild, untamed, & compelling. Dance, my heart. Dance always. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

We cannot heal what we cannot name, too. Feeling can be a way into the healing process IF we can feel. Some of us have been numbed because of traumas - PTSD, complex PTSD, various disassociative conditions, apparently some personality disorders... cannot feel or begin to name what has happened - sometimes only for part of a lifetime, sometimes for all of a lifetime. Some trauma survivors, such as complex PTSD sufferers, cannot understand or have words for what is being experienced & need help naming the feelings that arise & begin to be noticed & described. This is the way a very small child learns, & yes, someone who has been devastated & destroyed inside out from a young age will be learning just as a small child learns even if that person is an octogenarian. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Bukowski. How often I'd prefer to ignore & forget you, but you keep coming back to my mind & touching me again. You old faker, you could never die. You dance forever with your boozy, cackled, dangerous, maniacal, crazy, lovable, hard-lived wisdoms. So, I will dance too in my own self-defense. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Lying at the bottom of the mountains of possible healing work yet to do in/for me, I tell myself that it is even more difficult than it looks from here & in some places it will be near to impossible. Some places might even be impossible. But, that will not stop me & has not stopped me so far in this lifetime from beginning the work & from continuing to do whatever I know to do as I know to do it. It is a matter of taking each piece of the way as it comes & taking as many naps as needed along the way. So what if this life of mine ends while I'm still in process? I will have laughed, sung, danced, & loved the best I knew how all the way. Now watch me fly! ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Love, erotic attraction, sex, all human needs are not just for the thin & society's accepted beauties. Women & men of all sizes, shapes, even health statuses (yes, including near death statuses,) can have & do enjoy love, sex, cuddling, touch, erotica, etc. Imagine a world where we all get to love the body we live in now... not some "perfected future possible body" but our real body now. Imagine then being loved in our bodies now. Wow. It is possible. In fact, it happens all the time. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Stories, all sacred, weaving in, dancing out, a song, a memory,  a bridge. Stories, all sacred, in the telling live, bigger, wider, expanding ever onward, outward, inward, around around around. Stories, all sacred, listen! Stories, all sacred, we live them, we breathe them. Stories, all sacred, I am. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Deep wisdom from not just mere empathy but from shared experience plus fierce compassionate kindness with empathy planted firmly in the soil of life & heart dancing knows, offers itself, & goes where only the very few even dare look. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Our species learns the "joys" of being cruel, terrorizing those we hate, bullying, and even hunting humans for sport all so easily. This is totally unacceptable to me. Our security state approves torture, assassinating our own citizens, drones on us too, and the equipping of ordinary cops with weapons of mass destruction. And, we accept, applaud even, & support the bloodlust machine. The monster is in us all & will surely eat us all as well. I cry out for mercy! ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

A spy of some sort, no doubt, peeking thru the neighbor's basement windows at about midnight; dogs barking frantically there & ours here, a signal danger. A flashlight thru the window, thankfully from inside as the prowler walked away, spied the black fur coat. But, it was still almost a sweltering heat! Morning light revealed the paw prints: bear had visited us. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

But I am not very intelligent, not smart, just dull. My mind is often foggy, vacated, a pall. Except when it is super-processing which it does every hour every day, but does that really count if I cannot know what you say? I live in the same place, same time, use the same language, & still have not a clue about what is going on without my massive coping skill. And, so I stay mostly alone. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Thinking & remembering, processing then revising repeatedly as new insights & info comes, I think poems should be easier somehow to write than prose. Silly me. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

As I said earlier, the best way I know to honor anyone is to work for peace, real peace for all. As Mother Jones put it (my paraphrase) - I'll pray for the dead, but I'll work like a fiery demon from hell for the living. Until such time as we can learn to cherish life in its myriad forms, even the forms we do not know are life yet, even the forms of those we've learned to fear, distrust, & hate, & even the forms we hate to admit we love, we will not know real peace. Indeed as the ancients urged, let mercy & justice roll down like a mighty river thru us, in us, all around us, to all around us, and may we finally have & know real peace. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Loved ones, far & near, are always in our hearts. Sometimes the distance between us becomes an eternal one. That is when we are grateful for heart connections & memories that are also eternal. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

We share Breath with all Life. All life has feelings. Yes, even plants have feelings. Differences are here to enjoy, to celebrate, & to help us. It also is a mirror to us so we can begin to understand ourselves. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Long ago I decided to look for what in belief systems worked for the most disabled as one measure of what in reality worked or not for everyone else at the basic levels at least. If it did not work for the paralyzed, did it really work for the able bodied? At the same time, I decided to forgo parroting words just to signal to others to accept me into a particular belief group. I must express myself my way, in my own language - verbal or non-verbal, & in my own timing; otherwise, it was a falseness, a prison. Further, I decided sacred stories, a keen sense of humor, an acceptance of the silliness as well as the more serious, & the willingness to explore no matter where it led or what had to be dropped, changed, or adopted/adapted were essential to authenticity to me. And, here I am still on my journey of excitement that often means being misunderstood or even worse. Although that stings when I become aware of it, I'd not miss this journey for anything. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I was told not to tell my story or parts of it. I was told to let the past be past. Move on, they said. Don't write until you have something worthwhile to tell. They said a lot of things. One day I might even pay more attention to those many words of advice... one day... when my life finally becomes boring. Somehow I never have yet experienced boring... not even sure I have a working definition of it. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Often I can so clearly hear someone else's heartsong even from half a world or even centuries away. What joy! But other times I strain to hear even a faint whisper of someone else's heartsong who is here within feet of me. My greatest joy, though, is singing & dancing with my own heartsong in harmony with others whom I love & admire... no matter where they are. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I will have magic. I will have song. I will dance all about because I do belong here will I breathe & laugh & I'll play. I'll explore all portals & go where I may find a new creature, another loving heart & fly on my moonbeams & be called a tart. Just please make mine fresh fruit. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Someone once scolded me very harshly about my choices of reading material, friends, and other things left unmentioned/unspecified here. Many have had similar problems with my choices. Usually it is because I am seen as a source of fear for the person who wishes to control me (not going to happen I suspect as many more powerful have tried even with extreme force.) All I can say is that if the most evil being in existence said something, I'd defend that being's right to say it, & if what was said were worthwhile, I would accept it... & go on learning where I may. Yes, of course, part of learning to think is the skill of weighting the sources, verification, & research - research - research. Getting the big picture means seeing & hearing as much of the picture as is possible with accuracy as much as possible. And, the learning continues. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

The phrase "one day your looks will be gone" means what exactly? That one day I'll die & return to ashes? True. But, that doesn't mean my looks are gone. It means they've merely changed to ashy. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

More people seeking asylum from the USA has to be a major warning to us all even if time is pretty much up for most of us. As for me, while I'd prefer boring times for the peace of mind, I must admit to liking living now as every little bit can be something very important in a dramatic way. It's a grand time to encourage & love people because it is so very needed AND the system does not know how to handle true kindness, compassion, love, and goodness. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

But I don't want to be easy, breezy, chit-chatty, small talky, or bubbly... unless that is my feeling at the moment. I assure you it will be temporary with a long recovery period needed. Meanwhile, I'll dance, sing, laugh, read, play... on moon beams, rainbows, & other portals more suited to my nature. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Dance to your heartsong. Dance to the music all around us. Dance. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

Come & dance with me on the arch of the rainbows. Glide down to the golden shower of loving smiles & giggles of friendship in playfulness. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

What doesn't kill you makes you into a better investigator, I say. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

My mother told me never to fight because young ladies don't fight. So, I learned the sweet art of tripping my bullies & sitting on them. Who knew it'd work so well? So, now I am not young or a lady, my strategy has changed: now I just fall on my bullies & can't get up. This way works even better! ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

I want to leave my mark of beauty, hope, love, life so that someone/some life/some place was better in quality because I was here. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

My heart heard long ago but kept the doors closed. The window was still cracked as the wind blew the sheers I hid behind, watching, listening, wondering, hoping but still cautiously waiting. When did my heart surrender? Does it matter? ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw

If ever I've told you I love you, I meant it then & love today. A world may be between, night & day, partings do not destroy love if it is love. It matters not how manifested, love is love is love forever. Partings may be safety or change, but love is strange... remains. ~ Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw