Letters to the Moon....

Today has been a historic day for my state, Indiana. Today, after years of fighting for marriage equality, everyone in my state is allowed to get married. This is a victory for same-sex couples around my state, and a victory for everyone. The fight for marriage equality came to a head in the last year in the state legislature. I did not get to attend any of the hearings on the issue, I did not testify before lawmakers. However I wrote letters to my legislators, and donated money to campaigns to bring about equality in my state. As you may have read on this blog, I recently participated in my first gay pride parade. The topic of marriage equality was on everyone’s lips that day. As an ally, I am happy that equal rights have been granted to everyone in my state.  I pray that the same rights are afforded to everyone around the world. When rights are denied to anyone in a society, everyone loses. Congratulations to all of the warriors who fought for this victory-everyone ...

I had an amazing experience this weekend-I was able to take part in my local pride parade. For those who do not know, the term pride refers to a celebration in the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered community, often abbreviated LGBT. I remember years ago hearing a co-worker mention that she would be attending the pride parade. I was instantly shocked that she had said that. I could not fathom why she would be attending. I asked her , “You? You are not gay; why would you be going to the gay pride parade?” Her response to me was that she was participating through her church. Her church was open and affirming, and welcomed the gay community. Hearing her explanation made complete sense. As the date of this year’s pride event approached, I learned that my library system would be having a contingency of walkers in the parade. I thought that would be the perfect way to attend the event. I contacted the appropriate people and signed up to participate. In the days leading ...

Long week at work. Days full of stress and tension. Glad the day is over. (Yawn) I am simply exhausted. Maybe a warm bath will help me feel better. I leave my body and go on autopilot. I enter the bathroom without turning on the light. I turn the water on to “hot”.  I play peaceful music on my mp3 device. I sit in the bathtub, lean back, and close my eyes. The hot water feels good to me. It swims around my body as it fills the tub. The room is filled with dulcet musical tones that lull me into a meditative state. As the water flows into the tub, stress and tension flow out of me. As the tub fills with water, I am filled with calm and peace. Every ounce of stress has left my body. I now feel truly relaxed. In this moment of bliss I found what my body had been screaming for, what my spirit had been yearning for, what I most needed all along……….                              ...

Today the world has lost an amazing artist, a shining light. Maya Angelou died today. You may not know her name or who she was. Dr. Angelou was an author, educator, actress, singer, civil rights activist, and poet. Born Marguerite Johnson, she  became the first person of color to work as a cable car conductor in San Francisco. She later  began her professional career as singer and actress. In the turbulent times of the 1960s, she worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X in the fight for civil rights.  In 1969 she wrote her bestselling novel, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” In the 1970s she appeared in the epic television miniseries, “Roots.” In the 1990s Maya Angelou was asked to write a poem and recite it at the inauguration of American President Bill Clinton. She was the first female poet to be selected for this honor. In 2011 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Late last year, Maya Angelou wrote a poem upon the...

It has come to my attention that not all of my pages are appearing on this blog, as they had done in the past. So, I decided to write and tell you a little bit about me. My pen name is Esperanza Habla. That is not my real name; that is the name I use to share my writings. In English, this name translates to "Hope Speaks." My real first name is Hope, and I have a lot to say. I grew up in a family with a Mother and a Father and five children. I am the last child, and I am an adopted child. My home is the United States of America. I work in a library in my city and have been with the same library organization for nineteen years. Before working in a library, I went to university and received a degree in Music History and Literature. I began writing four years ago. My friends introduced writing to me as a means of self-expression. I wrote my earliest poems and shared them with those friends. Because some of these friends spoke Spanish, I began learning Spanish on my o...

Life is full of meetings and partings, hellos and goodbyes, arrivals and farewells, love and loss. Each day comes with its own challenges. Some days the severity of a loss does not affect you, and you can ride the wave. Other times the wave  crashes on top of you  without warning, leaving you breathless in its wake. There have been many challenges for me this year, this month. I recently shared that one of my family members has died. Yet again there has been another loss in my life. This time I have lost a dear friend. One of my former co-workers at the library died a few days ago. She and I were friends while we worked together; when she retired, she and I drifted apart. We would send one another e-mail messages occasionally, usually on holidays. Even though we did not interact as often as we had in the past, we picked up our friendship just where we left off. I learned that this friend had cancer a couple of months ago. A few weeks ago she entered hospice, or en...

There was a sad turn of events recently; a family member died. I was not close to this family member, but the loss was felt by all. I traveled with members of my family for the funeral services. In times like these, it is natural to think about our own mortality. At one point my family members asked me if I have made plans for my demise. Yes, I have made plans. I would like to be cremated, and have my ashes scattered in a beautiful place.  I have not decided where yet. Maybe Paris. That way, if I never get to Paris, I will one day. With all this talk and contemplation on death, I am reminded of something one of my online friends, an actor, told me once. He said that artists never die. Our work lives on long after we do. Through our work, we attain immortality. To be truthful, I had never thought about it that way before. But yet I can see that it is true. With the examples of the films of Charlie Chaplin, the songs of John Lennon, the books of Maurice Sendak, the paint...