National Women's Month: Part 5 of the Five-Part Collaboration between Artist AJ Meier Welch and Marie C Lecrivain

“We Won't Stay Silent, and We Are Watching You” (9 x12) from the series “Drawings of a Mad Saleswoman”© 2017 AJ Meier Welch, watercolor ink and pen on Bristol paper


After AJ Meier Welch's "We Won't Stay Silent, and We Are Watching You"

It was a glorious day filled with hopes, dreams,
and voices ringing with protests and songs,
a day where women of all stripes came together
with purpose,and pink pussy hats to dissolve
the boundaries of race, class, and ideological fallacies,
and to fill the space where they're needed most.

It was a day I could only celebrate on the periphery,
through social media snapshots of my friends carrying signs,
and their children upon their shoulders, in DC, Paris,
Los Angeles, and, amazingly, Antartica, where pink hats
kept cold ears warm, and hearts burning with enthusiasm.

It was a day that bound the better half of humanity
into a common promise; to take back the future,
be better to one another, and to keep marching
until the last oppressor's message is ground
to dust beneath the majesty of our feet.


© 2017 marie c lecrivain

National Women's Month: Part Four in the Five-Part Collaboration between AJ Meier Welch and Marie C Lecrivain

“What” (9 x12) from the series “Drawings of a Mad Saleswoman”© 2017 AJ Meier Welch, watercolor ink and pen on Bristol paper

After AJ Meier Welch’s “What?”

(dedicated to Eric Arthur Blair)

We’re all born with the same question;

What?, (usually followed by why?),

into a world full of questions

asked by others who have access

to a handful of hard-won truths,

and volumes of fables renamed history.

We all have a list of unanswered questions

that plague us in our deepest moments

of despair, startled awake at 4 am,

bathed in angry sweat and tears,

and we ask ourselves:

What happened?

What did I do?

What have I become?

We can grieve the loss of

the best part of ourselves,

the child of wonder we all once were,

tucked away in the most careful

and protected part of the soul,

surrounded by as many questions

as there are leaves on the trees of eternity

or

we can become that child again

© 2017 marie c lecrivain

National Women's Month: Part Three in a Five-Part Collaboration between AJ Meier Welch and Marie C Lecrivain

ONE DROP from the series “Drawings of a Mad Saleswoman”© 2017 AJ Meier Welch, watercolor pen, colored marker, and ink on Bristol paper.

After AJ Meier Welch’s “One Drop”

I never liked the little girl I was,

always being told to stay quiet,

be good, don’t talk back

to strangers who called

my stories lies, and who

never understood the gift

of being born one’s own muse.

I wish I’d grown up in a world

where my tales were lauded

by my peers, and where my poems

could burst forth into starry blossoms  

like those on the almond tree

in my backyard every spring.

Instead, I took refuge in other stories,

and added bits to my dark garden,

where they germinated in silence.

I gave birth to awkward poems

and shared these imperfect creations,

fervid, and on the defense against

other wordsmiths and bards

who welcomed me as one

of their own, not realising,

until, one day, when a fledgling

came into our circle with a notebook

clutched tightly to her chest, and

eyes lit with a defiant hope,

that was once me… and that

we’re all links in a chain

that leads back to Mother Muse,

each of us born from a single

perfect tear dropped into

the maelstrom of the world.

© 2017 marie c lecrivain

National Women's Month: The Artwork of Sondra L Scott

artwork © 2017 Sondra L Scott

 
Sondra L Scott is a Ceremonialist, Pries­tess, Yogini, & Artist. She’s a Mystic a­nd a Magickian, For the better part of t­hree decades she has dedicated herself t­o the study and practice of Eastern and ­Western philosophy, magic, and religion.­ Obtaining ordination in the Ecclesia Gno­stica Catholica and certification as a y­oga therapist with specializations in So­und & Gong artistry, and Vedic philosoph­y. Utilizing experiences with different ­schools of Magic and Esoteric science sh­e offers us a chance to see our inherent­ power to “Cause change to occur in conf­ormity with Will;” unlocking the power t­o create magical lives.

For more information/to purchase Sondra's paintings and other esoteric/magickal handcrafted goods, visit her shop 7 Magi.

National Women's Month: #2 of a Five-Part Collaboration Between AJ Meier Welch and Marie C Lercrivain

45 Bye-Bye from the series “Drawings of a Mad Saleswoman”© 2017 AJ Meier Welch, watercolor ink and pen on Bristol paper

After AJ Meier Welch's 45 Bye-Bye

Tears… blood… sweat… urine...

drops of matter engendered

by millions of mothers, daughters,

aunts, sisters, and friends who saw

their hopes and dreams washed down

the drain the day you ascended

the world stage. You swore to

represent us, the ones you regard

as nothing more than pretty faces

in a crowd, and pointed your index fingers

at us pistols loaded with evil intent.

What do you know of suffering,

privation, or of sacrificing

the last shard of self

to make a future for the ones

you love? You, who are steeped

in gold-plated privilege and

prestige you never earned?

What do you know of success,

which, for many of us,

includes holding your head high,

and accepting failure with grace?

What will happen the day

you look up into the sky

as the reign of womanhood

pours over you, a rising tide

whose bitter waters

will fill your mouth and ears

with the sound of silent sorrow?

Will it be enough

to stop your heart?

Will it be enough?

© 2017 marie c lecrivain

National Women's Month: A Five Part Collaboration between AJ Meier Welch and Marie C Lecrivain

Sad Monday People from the series “Drawings of a Mad Saleswoman”, © 2017 AJ Meier Welch (7 x 10 ink on bristol paper).

After AJ Meier Welch’s “Sad Monday People”

One day, I may write you a letter.

And maybe, you’ll do the same,

mailed from the other side of nowhere,

passed through endless machines

and many hands, until one day,

we both arrive to our homes,

sore and bone tired with nothing

to look forward to except piles

of dirty laundry and dishes, dust balls

and a tall monolith of overdue bills,

seated like a judge on the kitchen table.

One day, I’ll find your letter to me,

and hopefully, you’ll find my epistle to you

at the bottom of that stack. We’ll carefully

pick up the other’s missive, and ponder

the grimy edges, the stamp overlaid by

a bulky bureaucratic seal, and a heel mark

on the lower left hand corner from where

the mail carrier trampled it in the rain.

We’ll hold each other’s gift in our hands,

breath caught in our throats,

and smile quietly at the miracle

of one woman reaching out to another,

as we weave ourselves into

the tapestry of quiet endless voices

who sing of sisterhood in the dark.

© 2017 marie c lecrivain

     AJ Meier Welch is a writer with a MA in Literature and Literary Theory from NYU, a photographer, and self-taught artist. She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with her family. For information/or purchase, you can find her work on FB, and Instagram at drawing_daisies_and_dogs. 
     AJMW: "As a writer, I used painting to escape from writing. By arranging sequences of colors in varying sized, complex patterns, I found an easability of expression that I had yet to acheive through the written word. Later, abandoning patterns, I moved to a free expression of color through instinctual relationships. What I explore in my work are these relationships. Through painting, I connect at a root level with the purest stimulant for emotions and feeling: color. I believe very strongly that colors and color combinations are deeply embedded in the human psyche as part of our emotional response mechanism. My study of color blended with my natural inclination to shapes and lines - I wondered how I could create depth when I'm at ease. My latest series has been going for almost two years and is titled "Drawings of a Mad Saleswoman." My photography allows me to create emotion without words. I love being behind the lens. "

National Women's Month: Karen J. McDonnell's photo "Where the Land Meets the Sky"

photo by Karen J McDonnell





Karen J McDonnell lives in the Burren on the West Coast of Ireland. Her writing has appeared in various newspapers, journals, and anthologies in Ireland, and in the U.S., most recently The Stony Brook Thursday Book and The Honest Ulsterman. Her work has been listed in, and won several competitions, and was nominated for Best of the Net, in the U.S. She holds a B.A. in Classics, History and Creative Writing, and a Diploma in Radio Production. In 2016, she was awarded a Tyrone Guthrie Bursary by Clare County Council which enabled her to work on her first poetry collection. www.karenjmcdonnell.com