The following poem was first drafted at 18 Springs in February 2022 as an assignment during ‘Social Justice & ME: a five-week series with Dr. Fran Bates Oates’. As a "living bio" of sorts, I have updated it to make it relevant to the present moment [as of September 2022].

 

•••

 

I AM a seed of potential

 

I AM hope

I AM dreams

I AM ambition

 

I am my mother’s long trek from her homeland to the United States

 

 •

 

I AM Patricia Guillén

 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California

Land of the Chumash, the Tongva, and the Kizh [Keech]

 

I was created by Gregoria Cruz

Born  in Usulután, El Salvador

Land of Los Lenca

 

And Jubenal Guillén

Born in Guanajuato, Mexico

Land of Los Guamares

 

I AM sacrifice

I AM mystery

I AM displacement

 

I am my ancestors love, wisdom and struggle

 

•

 

I AM Earth

 

I AM grounded

I AM patience

I AM abundance

 

I am my mother’s stable and nourishing touch, when dad leaves and starts a new family

 

•

 

I AM Maiden

 

I AM joy

I AM playful

I AM sweet

 

I am Sunday afternoons at the park with my family

 

•

 

I AM Fire

 

I AM adventure

I AM passion

I AM fierce

 

I am a survival instructor and a "catcher/launcher" of aircraft off aircraft carriers in the US Navy

 

•

 

I AM Mother

 

I AM tender

I AM compassion

I AM grace

 

I am my mother’s primary caregiver when Lewy Body dementia decides to visit our lives

 

•

 

I AM Water

 

I AM emotion [the whole spectrum of emotions]

I AM yielding

I AM embracing

 

I am a student, a teacher, a bodyworker, a partner in healing and a lover of life... and death

 

•

 

I AM Crone

 

I AM wise

I AM multi-dimensional

I AM whole

 

Yo soy el legado de mi mamá, de mis abuelas y mis antepasados.

 

I am my mother’s, my grandmothers’ and my ancestor's legacy

 

•

 

I AM Air

 

I AM light

I AM movement

I AM expressive

 

I am breathing gently, deeply and slowly as I confidently step into a new season in the wheel of the year/life

 

 •

 

I AM Community Engagement

 

I AM connection

I AM reciprocity

I AM unity

 

I am wholeheartedly embodying social justice and devoted to Individual/Collective healing, care, growth and wellbeing

 

•

 

I AM Ether

 

I AM spacious

I AM stillness

I AM boundless

 

I am magickal, a vibrational being and a holistic alchemist

 

•

 

I AM a blooming flower

 

I AM love

I AM harmony

I AM sacred

 

I am currently planted in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Land of the Cheraw, Saponi, Tutelo, Saxapahaw, and Shakori

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If you're interested in Patricia's "bodywork for mental-emotional health and holistic wellbeing", visit https://www.thelunahaven.com for more information.

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