To Follow Her Mind . . .

. . . I tell myself / I tell others / is fundamentally important

I sit in my soul when I say this – a queen enthroned

I completely fill my eyes with my meaning  / look steadily

to follow my mind is fundamentally — essentially — important

if I am telling another woman

I look confidently with the diamond of this idea filling my eyes /

I look  into her eye-self and do not drop my gaze

if she looks away I wait patiently knowing she will return /seeking to see again this truth

sometimes I feel I am offering a firm ledge on a cliff face /

I welcome her to search for any trace of falseness / there is none

if I see a woman’s head drop lower /or see eyes harden or vacate

I will sometimes touch, gently, on the chin or cheek / reassuring/ confident

often this relocates us / looking deeply into each other / we encourage one another again

take a step toward / a woman following her mind / to the very end