I am so pleased, tickled, teary really, to announce the debut of a video project my photography was just featured in, ‘Blessing for one about to be Born’.  Image

You see I have amazing and talented friends, and one special someone hooked me up with another friend who is an exceptionally wise and eloquent poet.  You see Kyce has been at many, many of our birth blessings here in Santa Fe and being a poet herself she always shares the perfect prose on any given occasion.  Jennifer Ferraro’s ‘Blessing for one about to be bornhas had us all tearing up time after time and when Kyce had the brilliant idea of pairing my pregnancy photography and Jennifer’s poem, it was and instant match.  Not only did the essence of our work align perfectly, but we clicked right away, only to discover we grew up within 100 miles of each other so we will forever be bonded by a certain understanding of the world.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you with the work of Jennifer Ferraro, poet, author, wise woman & shining light of our times.  This poem is only the tip of the iceberg of her genius and the video the perfect birth to our future collaborations.  I am honored to work with her and delighted to share her with you.

So many thanks to the beautiful mamas who have allowed me to witness their grace, strength, wisdom and beauty and allowed me to capture their truest essence in my pictures.  Your are all my teachers, my muses, & my friends.

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Here is the poem for all to share, as I think every soul who braves to venture to this blessed Earth should be so welcomed!

Blessing for one About to be Born by Jennifer Ferraro

What shall we call you,

one who comes across a vast distance

bearing secrets of the future,

your mother’s hidden wishing,

and the remembrance of beauty that hung diffusely in the air

all those long years without you?

 

We call you the awaited one,

the dreamt of one, the sung one,

for we sing to you now a symphony of welcomes,

and a wish for your smooth passage to this world.

 

As if you were sweet basil, as if you were mountain rosemary,

as if you were the golden sweetness of the apple and the pear

at harvest time—

You sweeten your mother’s innermost heart

and ripen her for ever greater mystery—

For she has kissed the hem of the most Beloved

in calling you forth, sheltering a wild faith in life

in the darkness of her belly.

 

Like a rose folded inward, hiding great fragrance,

like a host watching over the sleep of the most cherished guest,

You are so tenderly awaited.

 

Little one, we sing to you now,

calling you joy, calling you promise fulfilled,

calling you sheer vastness and little drop of honey—

 

Join us here,

and your earthly journey

will be cloaked with songs and praises evermore.

 

Your mother’s vast heart, deepening as she awaits you;

Every tear she’s ever shed for joy gathering and intensifying–

For you, little drop of honey,

coming across great distances

just to see her face at last,

just to gaze upon the face of Love at last.

— Jennifer Ferraro