This is a Telegram from the Dark (2003)
* stop * See me * stop * I am the invisible woman * stop * I am sending you this message from the darkness of endlessly unrecognized days * stop * Ignore my beauty * stop * my intelligence * stop * my talent for word and image * stop * I have endured all kinds of atrocities and obscenities because somehow my invisibility has indicated that I warrant no respect * stop *
You have both visibility and sound * stop * Make them listen to the thunderous roar of my cry * stop * Their inability to see me has justified their deliberate ignorance of easily rectifiable injustices * stop * They hear what I say * stop * they just see nothing * stop * wrong * stop *
I am the invisible woman * stop * Do you see me fading * stop * My power is in my hips * stop * and my hips are thinning * stop * What difference does it make * stop * When they can stare right through me anyway * stop * Tell them if they think these injustices are due to my invisibility * stop * based on the sensitivity of my thin soul * stop * They better be prepared * stop * because if the same thing happens to them * stop * the perpetrator * stop * can always say * stop * that he or she thought they were invisible * stop *
Tell them the bare minimum that one human being owes another is the right to choose * stop * It is never acceptable for you to force your body on my body * stop * I always have the choice * stop * of what * stop * and where * stop * and who * stop * happens to my body * stop *
And tell them when I follow the instructions I read last summer to school children * stop * Mi Cuerpo es Mio * stop * and they do not respond * stop * Tell them their inability to recognize * stop * and value * stop * the power of words * stop * when their profession is based on them * stop * is a sheer disappointment * stop *
The pain of silence and invisibility is draining the life out of me * stop * and if they don't think the words * stop * You might not like this but I'm going to do it anyway * stop * aren't fit to be any rapist's motto * stop * they need to * stop * and think * stop * think * stop * and see * stop * me * stop * Don't let them stop me * stop * I am the invisible woman
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In Panama There is A Plant (2007)
In Panama there is a plant, often overlooked as it creeps through sidewalk cracks and nestles roads.
It is my favorite green thing.
This plant is sensitive. It fears touch. Strangers. Strange fingers, or toes, or rubber sneaker soles.
Its leaves resemble palm tree fronds. And yet, it does something no palm tree is capable of: at the slightest unwanted touch this plant clamps shut, shielding itself from the world.
I imagine this plant is open to rain, that it loves breeze, that its senses are fine tuned to screen friend from foe.
I imagine it knows when the threat is gone, that at that moment it reopens, stretching its green limbs to the sun.
I've never seen the leaves reopen. I feel guilty now for playing with this plant I love, teasing it with branches, and finger tips, and shoe soles.
This plant is a reflection of me. I've learned when to spring shut. When to shield my heart and soul to unwanted touch, unsought attention, hostile energy.
I've learned when I can miss the sun and hide in my own shade.
I have learned to value those who don't trigger my fronds, startle my leaves, cramp me into spaces where I feel unsafe.
I know rain from fingers, friend from foe.
When my skin prickles, I know it's not the way the wind has blown.
The man I love is breeze, sunlight.
With him my leaves lay open.
His light gently caresses my leaves. I find no reason to be closed.
With him my leaves lay open.
He does not toy with my uniqueness.
He never teases my leaves to watch me spring shut.
He does not push the edges of my boundaries.
He does not creep near me or search for me between the cracks.
He waits for me patiently.
I reach for him with my open palms.
He nurtures my open heart.
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MARTA L. SANCHEZ: born 1978 in Panama City, Republic of Panama.
MARTA Says
"I was raised straddling diverse cultures, so I strive to capture the vibrant richness of the world around me. I take the things that come to me, whether physical, like feathers and flowers, or intellectual, like stories and experiences, and I incorporate them into my artwork. "
Graduated from Spelman College in 2000, and from the University of Virginia, School of Law in 2005. Now a fulltime artist and activist, using art as the most powerful tool for reaching communities and transforming society.
Writing has been as central to the healing process as painting. I enjoy capturing moments, freely linking my today with my yesterday.
For each painting there is a story or a poem, sharing these words in order to weave together a more complete picture of this journey.
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Artist Statement
I believe creativity is a priceless act of peace. It is the complete opposite of destruction or of war. Creating art is a powerful way to present audiences with ideas and allow them the space to decide, to chose, to incorporate their voice and vision into the dialogue.
I create by channeling my feelings. Often the idea for a painting comes to me whole, in a dream, a thought, or a memory. I usually sketch an idea first, and then paint until I like what I see. Sometimes, someone walks in with a flower, or a story, and I paint that in too. Sometimes I get the flower or story first and I work around it.
I like the flexibility of being able to work with whatever I have in front of me, of not having to sort things out. Instead of keeping the good, tossing out the bad, I get to transform every experience into something beautiful and worthwhile. If I am honest with myself and my feelings, and capture the moment in a way that is pleasing to my eyes, that is productive.
My art is a visual affirmation, a way to dream out loud in color. It is a safe way to be honest, an insulated way to be open. It is my way to reach out and connect with others.
And through my work I find that beauty surrounds me, even during the hardest of times.
For more info. about MARTA L. SANCHEZ, visit her website:
poetryandart.org
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