Poetry: Universal Love

The 2012 “Phrasings in Word + Dance” is on!  Bellingham Repertory Dance presented its sixth annual collaboration with Chuckanut Sandstone Writers Theater this weekend.  What a great three days of art and insight. Carla and the BRD company have outdone themselves, again.  

This year I was selected, along with 5 other poets, to write a poem inspired by the dance film “Welcoming Clyde”, produced by Pam Kuntz, featuring BRD dancer Kate Stevenson.  It follows Kate dancing through her first pregnancy with grace and beauty, narrated by her husband.  The grand finale: Kate dances with her baby boy Clyde in her arms!  It’s a moving piece with beautiful photography.  The poems were matted & displayed on the fireplace mantle at the Firehouse.
Here is my submission:

Universal Love

Fathering life
Magnets towards center

 

Cosmic stirring pot
Circular orbits until
Gravity compels form

 

Mothering ingredients
Building hope
Holding, protecting
while this new galaxy
swirls into creation

 

Son our sun
Your parts divide, growing
Reverse mitosis~
you bring us closer

 

Family of stars
Directionally dependant
Tossed around like
A dryer set on delicate

 

Nine months you grow
Three worlds combining
Brought together by love’s gravity

Tonight, a new light shines in the sky!

 

Published by Shannon Laws

Shannon Laws is an award-winning poet, performer, and advocate for the arts. She has been recognized with two Mayor’s Arts Awards and the Dr. Asha Bhargava Memorial Award — Community Champion. Her work has been featured in numerous journals and anthologies, and she has captivated audiences at esteemed literary events, including the Jack McCarthy Evergreen Invitational Slam, SpeakEasy, Poetry Night, Kitchen Sessions, and the West Coast Tagore Festival. Beyond her writing and performances, Shannon actively fosters literary and artistic communities. Since 2022, she has curated Corridor, a monthly “found-art” zine project that showcases the work of more than 50 contributing poets and artists. She is also the founder and host of Poetry Club, an engaging discussion group established in 2015.

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