Feet Out From Under Me
A love letter and a prayer and a deep bow of gratitude to Jay Patch.
Memory from May 28th, 2016
Tyler. The photo on the left is from last year at this time...
Tyler. June 2019
Tyler. The photo above is from last year at this time. Tyler. The photo below is from this morning when you passed through with a smile headed back to listen to the news. You made it through a fckn' gauntlet. You have a roof over your head now. You can stand up straight. You can smile. You are RICH.
Tyler. Late May 2020
'I firmly believe that life is a three-fold journey of resilience, wisdom and love. That's all it is...'
'I firmly believe that life is a three-fold journey of resilience, wisdom and love. That's all it is. We are here to be broken. We are here to suffer. We are here to accumulate wisdom to get us out of suffering while remaining conscientious of pain and to love other suffering people and ourselves. And that's the reason we're here.' -Justin Downey
from a recent interview titled: TRAUMA, ADDICTION AND THE GREATEST LIFE CHEAT which will be available in full at www.joannearnold.com
Thank you Justin Downey for your deeply personal reflections and very vulnerable insights. It is a journey from innocence to incarceration and complex trauma, violence, crime and hate...to hot yoga, golden doodles and love. Who knew?
To the point without defending its' point of view.
To the point without defending its' point of view.
Standing tall. Walking down the street. Upright. It has not always been this way...
Dear Anonymous,
Standing tall. Walking down the street. Upright. It has not always been this way. Sweet smile. Pants ripped out at the knee and shoes split open across the top. But he offers that smile. And it lifts my heart. And he takes a piece of coffeecake from one of the guys that offers. I had none left. Coffee card. Socks. A few words and he's off. And that moment can be my sweet spot on any given day.
All the clothes I have found while out and about, dumped here and there have been washed and now fly out of my car. Insatiable. Never enough. I need. I want. I lost. It was stolen. I need. I need. I need. But there are smiles. There is sweetness. In this moment there is not one of us against the other. In this fraction of a moment. And sometimes in this world that's more than I can imagine. Thank you Dear Anonymous.
And suddenly the mundane shows up like this and I curse my error.
And suddenly the mundane shows up like this and I curse my error.
Tubular and somehow amusing and words like sea anemone float by.
Tubular and somehow amusing and words like sea anemone float by.
Power Plant
Power Plant
At 4 AM I have no concern with social distancing. Never have. It's lovely.
At 4 AM I have no concern with social distancing. Never have. It's lovely.
It was enough that ends meet.
It was enough that ends meet.
Where no one is shouting at one another. Weary of the righteously indignant.
Where no one is shouting at one another. Weary of the righteously indignant.
I hope there's as much upset now a white man takes a knee.
I hope there's as much upset now a white man takes a knee.
Almost too pretty.
Almost too pretty.
In Mrs. Palmer's first grade class, there was a dark haired girl with the whitest skin who ate red crayons. Only the red ones.
In Mrs. Palmer's first grade class, there was a dark haired girl with the whitest skin who ate red crayons. Only the red ones.
Peering into your web I entered an unexpectedly celestial world, untethered by what I think I know...
Peering into your web I entered an unexpectedly celestial world, untethered by what I think I know. And the parking lot disappeared as did that other photographer on the next wharf over and the parked truck and the debris from the welders shop. Poof. A portal. Without all the mystical hubris that chases that word.
The difference was, I could breath. And this. Leaves me. Gasping.
The difference was, I could breath.
And this. Leaves me. Gasping.
Not a boat moved. Almost no birds moving about except the night heron I unsettled...
Not a boat moved. Almost no birds moving about except the night heron I unsettled. But through the eyes of dew I could see the sun rise. Thank you, spider.
Can you see?...
Can you see? Can you see that she is putting every effort forward and this is it? That this was underway last December as you shoveled snow atop her bed and cursed the darkness?
I think if I post that image of all those needles and narcan I find, all the prescription bottles I find...
I think if I post that image of all those needles and narcan I find, all the prescription bottles I find jumbled in a bag tossed to the side of a parking lot, I wonder what will be seen.
He's a sucker for that blueberry coffeecake. Enjoys a coffee card. Loves the socks. And so good to see his smile.
Dear Anonymous,
He's a sucker for that blueberry coffeecake. Enjoys a coffee card. Loves the socks.
And so good to see his smile.