The Way It Is

I have always known
that had I been blonde
blue-eyed
with skin fabled white as the unicorn’s
with cheeks tinted and pearled
as May morning on the lips of a rose
such commercial virtues
could never have led me to assume myself
anywhere near as beautiful as
my mother
whose willow fall of black hair
– now pirate silver –
I brushed as a child
(earning five cents)
when shaken free from the bun
as wrapped round and pinned
it billowed in a fine mist
from her proud shoulders
to her waist.

Brown as I am, she is browner.
Walnut
like the satin leaves of the oak
that fallen over winter in woods
where night comes quickly
and whose wind-peaked piles
deepen the shadows of
such seizure.

Moreover, she is tall.
At her side standing
I feel I am still
that scarecrow child of
yesteryear:
owl-eyed
toothed, boned and angled
opposite to her
soft southern presence –

an inaudible allegiance
but sweetening her attendance
upon strangers and friends.

Dark hair, dark skin
these are the dominant measures of
my sense of beauty
which explains possibly
why being a black girl
in a country of white strangers
I am so pleased with myself.

–© Gloria Oden

Journal prompts:

• What legacy has contributed to your being pleased with yourself?

*after August 17th, the price will increase to $395 so order now for a deep discount!

To Pre-Order:

*Flash Drives should be ready to ship by August 31st

Included on the Flash Drive:

Audio from all 12 teaching sessions including:

a. From Passion to Profit – Janice Putrino
b. Getting Slightly Famous – Mary Reynolds Thompson
c. Success Patterns – Kathleen Adams
d. The 4 P’s of a Profitable Brand – Mary Reynolds Thompson
e. Self-Supervision – Kate Thompson

and much more!

9 Ready to Use Curricula including:

a. Autobiography of Place
b. Transitions
c. Let’s Write About Food
d. Stressbusting
e. Wherever You Go is Called Here

Also included are 5 e-Reports:

a. Brain Injury
b. The Journal as Supervision
c. Journal Ladder
d. Pitch Perfect
e. Writing Through Transitions

She recently completed a Master of Education in Education and Human Resource Studies with an emphasis on Organizational Performance and Change, (OPC for short). She also holds a BA in Organizational Communication from Metro State (2007).

In past work lives, she has been an emergency dispatcher, sales and editorial assistant, and trainer amongst other things.

While relatively new to the journal world, Kendra is a Certified Instructor of Journal to the Self and is working on her Certified Journal Facilitator credential. She enjoys working with those who have been touched by adoption as well as college students who just don’t know how they are going to get it all done. She is the founder of The Golden Journal, a nod to her family heritage in Golden, Colorado.

In her free time you can find her at the dog park with her Aussimo (Australian Cattle Dog / American Eskimo Mix) Talus, or chasing her cat Goatee around the house. You will also find her listening to music, enjoying rare free time with her husband, and dreaming of her next cruise vacation.

To contact Kendra, you can email her here or call 303-986-6460.

A Valentine for Ernest Mann, Naomi Shihab Nye

What’s In My Journal, William Stafford

The Trouble with Poetry, Billy Collins

Secret, Leslea Newman

SF, David Lehman

The Work of the Poet is to Name What is Holy, Diane Ackerman

To book Kathleen Adams for a Women’s Circle, Women’s Story workshop in your own community, you will realistically be able to enroll 12-20 women who have some familiarity with women’s group process, personal process, and/or journal work at an average fee of $150 (one-day) or $275 (weekend) workshop.

Hours: 1st day 9:30-4:30; 2nd day 9:00-2:00.

Please Contact Us for further information