love yourself in your lists

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The setting for this poem is one of my favorite places on Earth - Saratoga Springs Retreat Center, in Clear Lake, CA. I'd gotten used to having a weekend camping getaway each year because of my participation on Strength For the Journey, a Methodist retreat for PWA/HIV at Camp Cedar Glen in Julian, CA, and when I moved up to the Bay Area in 2006, these retreats became about sexuality as well as spirituality. In 2007, I first went there for a now-retired event called Leather Levi Weekend (LLW). For the next ten years, this was my retreat, whether through LLW or the Bootcamp. I have had many sacred and sacral experiences there, and I acquired my love of all things purple hanky. The accompanying video link is a studio recitation of this, which I wrote while attending my first formal poetry class with Sharon Coleman at Berkeley City College. Trust me, you want a teacher like her to help you step into the poetry of your life.



Video link for this poem is here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHvvg3w-0Sg



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