Page 134 - Dark Matter Women Witnessing

in their labor fashioned the fretwork of tunnels

that would house this knowledge safe from

an invading force that did not speak to earth.

Notes:

The title of the poem is taken from a line from a poem by Kevin Prufer. I asked myself

'What is our City?' and got the reference to the mothers because who else makes life? I

was reminded of the Native American myths of, in particular, Spider Woman and the

Turtle that holds up the world, which catapulted my imagination into what our City (i.e.,

our World) might have been before the 'invasion' pulled us from union and grace.

About the Author

Grace Marie Grafton has been

writing poetry for over four decades. Six

collections of her poems have been

published, the most recent Jester

(2013). She has taught literally

thousands of children the art of writing,

through her work with CA Poets in the

Schools.

Some things that inspire Grace to write are orchids and ravens, art and meditation, love,

curiosity and the sounds of words. She lives in the hills of Oakland, CA, near redwoods,

oak and bay trees, salamanders, skunks, squirrels and many birds including the local

wild turkey flock.