Angel Island

The fairies rode the ferry to Angel Island

Whimsical beauty of the Miwok land

Lush Claytonia hillsides,

Vibrant bulb potato stands, blue along every trail

Tempted to find a digging stick & tend the patches

I walk on, compelled by the stories of

The “immigration center” which is around the bend

Of the detained Chinese men

Whose poems of reckoning Carved into the barracks walls

Remain to this day

When we are collectively,

Still deconstructing our history

Dismantling the illusion of white supremacy

When a wild one wanders past

We lock eyes & dance in the tracking

Each other’s movements closely

Observed, felt, tethered

Urban wilderness musings

As the sun sinks in the West,

We board the Mariope

Named after the Pleiadean star sister

Who fell in love with a mortal

Coyotes howling a farewell

We set sail

And I, lover of islands with the wind at my back,

Feel the gestation of my trilogy ripening in my soul

Prepared to tell the tale

Of when humans healed & thrived

While my dear one’s water broke

Gushing urgency, gravity of rivers surging

Maternal tides flow

A Spring baby is born

This poem tells the true story of a most amazing day in March 2022. I began the day with a ferry to angel island with my dear, and very pregnant friend Deirdre, who I stayed with for several weeks to support her before and after her labor.

On the island, I met her sailor friends, who were celebrating a birthday, and who had sailed to the island from the East Bay. My son’s class had visited Angel Island in the Winter, and since then I had been somewhat obsessed with getting myself there.

I walked around the island, reflected on this historic place, and grappled with all of its complexity while very much enjoying the beauty of the day. At one point, I came to a turn in the road and there was a coyote, who held eye contact before leaping into the bushes (see a little video I made of this encounter below).

Too concerned about starting labor on the boat to sail home, Deirdre returned by way of the ferry, and I went with her fairy friends on their boat for a delightful sunset sail back.

My next series of novels have kind of a lot to do with sailing. I’ve been trying to get more sailing experience under my belt as I write the books, and suffice to say, being able to be on a boat did wonders for my writing ambitions! My novels are about the topic of how humans can collectively thrive, and I’m thrilled to be writing them!

Deirdre’s hubby picked me up from the marina, and we went to pick up Thai food for dinner. We walked in the door to a very glowing Deirdre, who declared after a series of hugs that her waters had broken.

Off to the hospital they went while I stayed home with her doggies and awaited the good news of the coming of the babe, which happened the next morning!