This is the truth I know: That your definition of me is incomplete, whatever stereotypes I inhabit. I am struggling to reconcile these simultaneous, paradoxical sensations of rage and defeat. I am struggling to reconcile the lesson of my youth—that I could be anything!—with the obvious, systemic, condoned, sanctioned marginalization of my voice. My faith… Continue reading Dark Days, Parables, and Pride
Tag: identity
Content in Half
I am most content in half-light when knitted shadow gives better cover, and I can claim my contours without reprobation from full sun. I’m less disposed to wonder at the disappearing act my eyes seem lately to perform—a caustic partner for a smile. Instead, I will recline in the very definition of a chin or… Continue reading Content in Half
These Fires
An intentionally placed hallelujah won’t raise the tides to quench a jaundiced sky; no more do I feel less spiritually waterlogged for the wine. I remember, the time; the time; the time. I remember so much, and for the less forgotten; how could I lose track, but still conflate years and minutes. I am——beleaguered, labored,… Continue reading These Fires
caroline ridgway 