I have been returned to the soil of this birth and yet it feels like a strange land. Born on the Gulf, raised by Appalachia only to be returned to the shore as a stranger. The move felt like a quick exodus, with pharoah’s hounds nipping at my heels; family and friends left behind, belongings sorted and hurriedly packed or donated.
Signs of the move were in the air, in the field/ether; as swirls of dust in my foot steps, the voice of birds, whispers in the wind. Even when the date was known, it felt surreal and I just a witness to this abrupt homecoming.
The move is now complete, belongings unpacked and placed…mostly. The life that was had to end so what was needed could be. Life is a cycle and at an ending is also a beginning.
I am still finding my voice in this new land; visiting cities of the dead, sitting in the dark, standing in the crossroad. Appalachia fostered and taught the being I am today only to send me to where this light is needed for the struggles ahead.
I invite you to join me in this new space, exploring a land so potent with magic that one can see it dancing in the tress. Literallly.
May you go from this place differently than you came.
Annette Lanniée 