look at little ms. social butterfly
wings carrying her between movements
that girl finds commonality
everywhere
look at little ms. social butterfly
holding your hand & greeting you with a kiss, a hug
she will come
to read poetry
with you
to organize
with you
to walk, talk, and overanalyze
with you
but somewhere between hello
and how are you
she is gone
always pollinating
look at the way she has brought us all together!
no can’t you see
she flies between us all
never calling one place home
could you love little ms. social butterfly
knowing she will be fully present
but only for a little while?
could you love little ms. social butterfly
knowing this, this fluttering between communities,
is the only way
she has figured out
how to survive?
maybe she is all of us:
a breadth of experiences and identities reflected in the patterns of our wings
let’s fly to new heights
and find somewhere to return
weaving together bridges
and relying on no one’s backs
look at little ms. social butterfly
detroit was really powerful to me because it meant that there were always 20-30 people in a half mile radius that i could trust with ANYTHING. still, after the conference, every single person i have talked to has said something along the lines of “it was great to see you! i wish we had time to hang.” i am seeing so many pictures and jokes of moments i missed with people because i was somewhere else. where was i? how many communities am i flying between? if you are having conversations with multiple groups of people, do you ever get to go deep with any of them?
YES!
Posted by Blackamazon on July 28th, 2009.
Oh, I love this and I know that feeling!
Posted by elle on July 28th, 2009.
could you love little ms. social butterfly
knowing she will be fully present
but only for a little while?
Overwhelmingly yes.
Besides, I’ve always had the same (problem/asset) myself.
Posted by little light on July 28th, 2009.
Yes. I can totally relate love. How can we stay grounded?
Posted by lex on July 29th, 2009.
thanks for writing this stacey. the questions you provoke are so important. how to occupy “homes” in multiple communities and play the role of synthesizing/weaving them together from the ground level, rather than hoovering above, outside.
i’ve been feeling shitty about the fact that there were so many ppl at the amc who i had been corresponding with all year and didn’t meet, much less hang out with, at the amc.
maybe we just need a month-long amc. HA!
or we need to develop the technology that will slow down time enough to let us stretch out and slip in between moments – so a brief hug actually becomes an all-night conversation. or a rushed meal at a restaurant becomes a full afternoon cooking and eating together.
Posted by jenny on July 30th, 2009.
i hear you jenny!! can’t even imagine how you must feel if i feel this way. last year friends and i organized a conference and half way through i realized i hadn’t met any of the participants… what kind of community building is it if the way we organize doesn’t actually allow that time for being together? just running around, keeping things together. so i changed my habits and spent time w/ ppl but without communicating about that w/ other organizers you end up leaving them hanging. it’s such a hard balance to acheive, working w/ yr crew so everyone has time to prioritize community, keeping it all together, making time for yourself, etc. etc. etc.
thank you for everything you’ve done though, jenny. amc was transformative for so many folks i know and i really appreciate the space that you and others have created for this growth.
Posted by cripchick on July 30th, 2009.
ay si mujer.
Posted by Mamita Mala on August 2nd, 2009.