Upward Spiral

(c) Chantal Khoury (chantalkhoury.com)

 

(c) Chantal Khoury (chantalkhoury.com)

 

The unacknowledged belief

is that fear holds you together

not back,

that it keeps you going

even if you’re dreaming on your toes, straining destiny

See, fear is what you’re made of, where you come from,

As you clench without release

and hold your breath to speak

It’s all that’s keeping me grounded

In the rich dread of my predecessors.

All that stands between me

and dissipation

unto the great beyond.

 

But what of the will to rise up new

from nothing

to write home about

at all?

What of the roaring, elegant stillness behind our rushing minds?

 

 

 


Maya Khamala worked at Montréal’s Centre for Gender Advocacy for six years, first as Promotions Coordinator and then as head of Campaigns & Programming. Her work consisted of organizing with families of missing and murdered native women, and creating popular education initiatives about issues pertaining to gender, race, reproductive justice, and sexual assault. She completed her BA and MA in English Literature & Creative Writing at Concordia University, and today works as a freelance copywriter, journalist, and editor, while completing her first collection of poetry and serving as a core member of the feminist wellness collective, Tiger Lotus Coop (TLC). Get in touch about Maya’s professional writing and editing services here: http://khamalacopy.com/