Off Map – Follow the Terrain

westcoastwoman Human Condition, Joyce Rupp May 21, 2020July 20, 2020 1 Minute

westcoastwoman 2016

“There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors.” Adrienne Rich

OFF MAP -FOLLOW THE TERRAIN

“Sit down and weep”, not something I have considered during this period of containment. I own but have not read a book titled “By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept”. I like the title so well I am not sure I will ever read what is inside. Weeping appears to be a more enlightened form of crying. Do we weep for humanity and cry for ourselves?

I want to learn how to ‘weep’ and then search out ‘those among’ us who could acknowledge my strength as a warrior. My hope is they are waiting somewhere ‘off map’, beyond the beyond.

This poem by Joyce Rupp, OLD MAPS NO LONGER WORK speaks to that part that yearns to go ‘off map’ and discover new terrain… perhaps that decision has already been made for us.

westcoastwoman 2020

Published by westcoastwoman

A story or poem follows me around for a while, I write it down to get it out of my head and sometimes after rereading it seems universal enough that I hope it might also speak to someone else. One thing that has become clear is the photography and the writing seem to be morphing into one, the photograph being the muse for the words or the words for the photograph.....and then a quote I find from someone who had the talent to put what I am trying to say into a few precise sentences. View all posts by westcoastwoman

Published May 21, 2020July 20, 2020

5 thoughts on “Off Map – Follow the Terrain”

cynthiadaigle1668 says:

May 22, 2020 at 8:06 am

“Weeping appears to be a more enlightened form of crying.”

Love that line. And I’m weeping right along with you. I will happily call you warrior. I don’t care what name I’m given. The gift, for me, is the weeping itself. So many gifts right now. So many.

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1. westcoastwoman says:
  
  May 22, 2020 at 8:09 am
  
  made me realize I have neither wept or cried during this whole period. Not physically anyway……but my heart is weeping.
  
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sarahboddez says:

May 22, 2020 at 8:14 am

WOW. This is so insightful and true.

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GirlieOnTheEdge says:

May 24, 2020 at 7:11 pm

“..perhaps that decision has already been made for us.”
So it would seem. The question I ask – who of us shall embrace the challenge? 🙂

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1. westcoastwoman says:
  
  May 24, 2020 at 7:46 pm
  
  good question……perhaps the ones who used this time of pause to learn how to navigate ‘by the stars’. The ones who have gone beyond the ‘new normal’ to a whole new reality. There must be ‘those among us’.
  
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