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image-ine: tribes

By Susan Cornelis 5 Comments

tribes

save me from the little tribes
the us and them tribes
that say who can’t marry who
that make you take up a gun to defend them

give me those sisters and brothers
in the bigger family
to link arms with
to cluck and strut together

to head off somewhere
not knowing precisely where
trusting that we’ll find the way
. . . together

the kind of tribe we need
with mixed up colors and open doors.

 

Artwork (graphite powder, acrylic inks and gesso, collage on w/c paper) and poem by Susan Cornelis. Used with permission. © Susan Cornelis. Susan blogs at Conversations with the Muse. Information about her art workshops is found at Imagine with Art.

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  • image-ine: tribes - August 31, 2012

Filed Under: Art, Blog, Image-ine, poetry, writing prompts

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Comments

  1. Maureen Doallas says

    August 31, 2012 at 10:15 am

    So delighted to see Susan featured here.

    Reply
  2. L. L. Barkat says

    August 31, 2012 at 11:32 am

    “to head off somewhere
    not knowing precisely where
    trusting that we’ll find the way
    . . . together”

    That.

    And the painting is delightful. Love the colors.

    Reply
  3. Will Willingham says

    August 31, 2012 at 10:42 am

    That statement in the image itself, that “without a tribe a person is suspect” — such a profound and difficult truth in that.

    Susan, thank you for sharing your work with us this morning.

    Reply
  4. Monica Sharman says

    August 31, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    and it pains
    me to remember I
    was one in one
    of those petty little
    (so little) tribes
    not only for the ones
    I hurt but for all
    the arms that could
    have been linked
    to mine

    Reply
  5. Susan Cornelis says

    September 7, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    Thank you so much for posting my piece here and for all the wonderful comments! You readers are surely part of my tribe.

    Reply

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