In celebration of Marla Taviano’s whole: poems on reclaiming the pieces of ourselves and creating something new, we thought we’d offer a poem that is perhaps a good starting point of the whole idea in whole: finally and deservedly realizing you have to start by taking of yourself. Congrats Marla.
j-o-y
Jesus first
yourself last
others in between
for years and years
I denied myself and
picked up my cross
loved god
loved Jesus
loved my husband
my kids
my church
my neighbors
and if there was
anything left,
I’d love me
too bad there
was never
anything left
This article is an excerpt used with permission from whole: poems on reclaiming the pieces of ourselves and creating something new.
Marla Taviano is into books, love, justice, globes, anti-racism, blue, gray, rainbows, and poems. She reads and writes for a living, wears her heart on her t-shirts, and is on a mission/quest/journey to live wholefarted (not a typo). She’s the author of unbelieve: poems on the journey to becoming a heretic, jaded: a poetic reckoning with white evangelical christian indoctrination, and other books. She lives in South Carolina with her four freaking awesome kids and two adorable cats. Find out more at marlataviano.com.
