I wrote this at the end of 2016 and read it during performance night for “Faces Of Freedom” 2017 in Brevard, North Carolina:

If Freedom Had a Voice by Nicola Karesh

If freedom had a voice, what would it say?
It would say,

Let go…
Walk with the wind.
Let go…
Run with the wind.
Let go…
Dance with the wind.

If freedom had a voice, it would wake you up in the morning with loving insistence
What adventure will you be having this morning, sweet child?
Your chariot awaits as does a wonderful world right out there
And, right in here.

So much to explore
So many to meet
A smorgasbord of experiences to be had
And a spectrum of feelings for your senses to dip into.
What will it be?
What will it be?

If freedom had a face, what would it look like?
Why, it’d look a lot like you, and you, and yes, precious you.

It would span light to dark with interesting shades in between
Sometimes like a palette, it might keep colours in a neat and tidy,
orderly sort of fashion…

You know,
Keep the reds with the reds

Cream with the creams

Blacks with the blacks

And sometimes, because freedom can break loose from a structured mold,

It would dare to be bold and mix it up!

Yes, today, let’s have yellow waltz over to black to create the loveliest rich mahogany.
Ivory and mocha doing the samba together to create the warmest, sun-kissed bronze.

Oh, if freedom had a voice, it would say,

Ring the bell, it’s time to play! Come outside! Bring your jacks, the old boombox, put on your swimsuit, run barefoot and for pete’s sake, let your animals get a whiff of that fresh air too.

Roll in the grass and remind your body that it has the luxury of movement. Feel the silky, sensuous green beneath your toes. Sin k your fingers into the dark pearls of Mother Earth and while you delight in her rich foundation, send her your thanks for the many ways that she sustains you and all of life itself.

Take in a deep breath of precious oxygen through your nose with the slowest release through pursed lips. Smile as you send off your sweet cargo of CO2 to a surrounding enclave of trees and wait for the reciprocated gift of oxygen.

Let it in,
Let it in,
Let it in.

If freedom had a voice, what would it say?

It would say,

Yes, I’ll try that, thank you.

It’d say,
No, I don’t think so.
I’ll pass.
Maybe some other time.
Not in your wildest dreams!

Hell no!

It’d say,

Pour some more of that sugar on me, puh-lease!
Ooh, I like that!
Keep it coming, yes!

If I could line up everyone and everything, all creations imaginable and unimaginable, gather you all together for a celebratory moment in time, I’d remind you that you are all precious cargo sent off in love, with love, to be love.
To embark on a sacred journey of life
Free to be you
The you that you imagine yourself to be
The you that you desire to be
The you that you were born to be.
Go low or soar high.
You have a stamp on your face, in your heart, running through your veins, your mind, your voice…
It walks with you in the wind.
It is at your back and all around as you run with the wind.
It delights in transporting you as you circle and dance with the wind.
It lives in you.
It breathes in you.
It inhabits the Divine space in you.
It waits only for your beckoning call…
Your placement of the mat that welcomes it in… Freedom.

Nicola Karesh, copyright © 2016 – All rights reserved.
Please feel free to share in its entirety!