Risen from
the well-worn cushions of sofas
and
the floors of barrooms and brothels,
we sit together
in small circles
and
big community spaces,
listening with understanding
that reveals respect
no one else can give.
We pull the curtain back
until our realness is really exposed,
and we receive acceptance
in the place of our feared abandonment.
We show up,
we lift up –
each other,
and
each new face.
Had One not shown us first,
how to die
and
how to rise,
I doubt any of this would work.