Sing me that song, the one only you know. The one that turns the skies to a chorus. I listen, with the humility of a thousand stories lived, to your love that trills behind every line. Enamored by the gentle force of your breath, I’ll wait, held in this present by a single note. Here, […]
Author: Cristen Writes
To the Awakening Woman
To the woman who is just starting to wake up, please understand that you can’t wish yourself back to sleep. Even if you could manage that kind of dissonance for a while, it would only lead to more sorrow upon your inevitable reawakening. What you are starting to see right now is not new. It […]
I know
I know that we’re going to make it. I know because my co-worker came in with happy news, and we hugged with tears in our eyes. Because two college kids walked across the street – one with pink hair and the other with purple. And following closely behind was another carrying a canvas – a […]
My brother’s keeper
tight-rope rope walking, balancing extremes. still, too few are talking. still too many screams. love, compassion, grace. are we in this together? but to see the anguish on her face; to know that trauma lasts forever. no, this world is not darker than I once knew it to be. I’m just forced to look farther […]
Black history is American history
The shared stories of our past are meant to be told. Even if they make us uncomfortable. Even if we think we’ve learned what needed to be learned. Even if we know we haven’t. Stories are meant to be told. Because healing doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in phases. Each one building upon […]
Higher Order
There are bigger things happening here. The revolution is energetic. And it is in full swing. And with all the chaos, that can be easy to lose sight of. The narcissists are being revealed, and they are cracking. The flying monkeys are fleeing, and for some the introspection has already begun. The scapegoats are making […]
This Day
Thank you for this day, for this life, for this breath. Thank you for the reminders, like glimmers of sun on rain-soaked leaves. And thank you for all of the journeys, big and small, that have brought me this far. Thank you for the love. Thank you for the protection. Thank you for the support. […]
Broken Corsets
They thought we’d willingly squeeze into that old corset of victimhood – politely smiling while we desperately try to catch our breath. But healed women are far too large to fold ourselves into hems and muzzles and cages even if we tried. See, we aren’t starving ourselves anymore. We aren’t small and well kept. And […]
New Year 2026
This year there will be no resolutions. At least not the kind I used to set. Because this year doesn’t center the task. This year centers the being, with faith that the tasks will naturally follow. This year I’m settling in to my Knowing. Last year brought the practice runs and curve balls, and now […]
Tend to the Fire
The most important thing you can do is tend to the fire. Don’t spend all your daylight warding off dangers or hastily gathering up tribes. Those things will happen on their own when the flames are burning bright. Gather up your kindling – leaves, poems, sorrows, ideals, and other combustible things – and use them […]
Fire Came Out
I opened my mouth to speak and fire came out. Then came that age old response. The voice in my head that said stop. Don’t speak in anger. Don’t allow yourself to feel anger. Anger doesn’t help. Anger just triggers the other person. Being angry means that you’re doing something wrong. You’re looking at it […]
Black Sheep
The unshed tears of my mother and her mother, and those of her mother before her – I will use them as water so that new branches might grow from this ancient and strong, but wounded, tree. And their unexplored depths will be my home, the places they were warned not to tread, for the […]