then there are blackbirds

I stand on the borders of mountains and skies;
at the water's edge, waves breaking over
sand, concrete-

reaching back for a land that is mine, not-mine,
seeking sounds of home in strangers' tongues. It is
a poor inheritance for an unfilial daughter, but
were I a better one I still could not escape

the politics of possession,
the yearnings of the dispossessed.

But up where the air is thin, solitude can pass
for freedom- or near enough- for a time;
even sorrows and injustices can be
dwarfed momentarily by the vastness of the sea that
erases all footprints, sings salt upon the shore.

Here, then, a small serenity
breathes in with the wind,
out with the tide.

***

(Why yes, I was going through pictures yesterday. Also not quite satisfied with this, but it is what I wanted to say, or close enough.)

In other news, zahrawithaz posted a link to "Tell Our Own Stories": Contemporary African Women's Fiction (a review of four books with some publishing context), which seems relevant to some of your interests, circle! ;)

Going to a minor-league baseball game tonight. I anticipate boredom, but at least it will be boredom in amusing company?

hello! am finally back, omg, and currently resisting sleep so i can actually wake up at a normal time tomorrow. Philly was awesome, but the company? :S it was me, sister, sister's friend, and the friend's little brother; i am not exactly a fan of the friend, and am now even less a fan of her brother, oh god. it was fun to run around, even in the pouring rain, but i seriously felt like i spent the entire weekend babysitting. which... ugh. never doing that again.

in happier news, my story has been posted at rs_small_gifts, which i'd nearly forgotten about due to the aggravation! then there are blackbirds, PG, written for dreamdustmama's prompt: You ask of my companions. Hills, sir, and the sundown, and a dog as large as myself that my father bought me. They are better than human beings, because they know but do not tell. ~Emily Dickinson

recspam to commence when i am less tired and have done more reading. in the meantime, how's it going for you guys? any links i should read ASAP? ;) &hearts!

+ HELLO AGAIN COLD WEATHER. D: I did not miss you, at all. THERE IS NO SNOW TO MAKE UP FOR THIS RIGHT NOW. Also it irks me more than it should to have to go to my friend's dress-up-in-hooker-heels-and-dance (okay, not actually the theme, but it's a nice excuse to break out the purple boots, shut up!) birthday party tonight swathed in a GIANT DOWN COAT that feels/looks like wearing a bed outside, which TOTALLY ruins the aesthetic, hmph. Yes, I am a bit shallow about these things (thank you, ballroom), but at least I am sensible about my anti-freezing clothing choices, even if it makes me grumpy.

+ Speaking of birthdays: happy birthday, avendya! &hearts I will write whatever Yuletide-fandom scenario tickles your fancy, since it's the season and it has been a really long time since I wrote in... any of my small fandoms, really. Er, no promises on the actual execution date, though, especially since I need to get cracking on my ACTUAL Yuletide story. /o\

+ Some fashion win: Mataano. OMG SO PRETTY. *__*

+ And some fashion fail, via racebending: Karl Lagerfeld Opened His Pre-Fall Show in Shanghai With a Film That Included Yellow Face. Yes, you read that correctly. REAL CLASSY, eh? Obviously the Orientalist idea of China trumps the ACTUAL REALITY of China in western fashion, surprise surprise. *makes vomit face*

+ To end on a happy note: R/S shippers, RUN, DO NOT WALK, to Keep Calm and Carry On by the ever-awesome crooked. &hearts &hearts &hearts Stuff like this is why rs_small_gifts is still totally my favorite non-Yuletide exchange of the year, omg.