Writing with Juliet Iwelunmor

These days we are doing three things: 1) loving what is human; a baby, a bird, this body resting plus any living creature that knows how to be free: 2) holding all the things we love against our bones knowing that this life depends on it: and finally 3) knowing for somethings, the time to let go, is now. So we are letting go.

These three acts of living was shared by Mary Oliver in her poem ‘In Backwaters Woods.’ They were also personified by my dear friend Mati in a room full of our ancestors wildest dreams. We are building STARS and we are so grateful to her for coming back always to remind us that to be for the public in public health, we must love, we must hold, we must let go (Love, Hold, Let go-LHL). Again, we love, we hold, we let go. We love, we hold, we let go.

Everything I keep learning with this life of mine bent on loving fires and all the ways we fail, is that in the end, the other side of fires isn’t scars but salvation, or liberation as Mati would say. Nothing beats women, black like us and free. Thank you for the reminder my dearest Mati. You are our salvation, our liberation, our rest, our ancestors wildest dreams and thank you for loving me, holding me, and reminding me always to let things go.