Judy Grahn, at the Lesbian History Exploration Conference (1975). Photo by Tee Corinne (Lesbian Hers
Judy Grahn, at the Lesbian History Exploration Conference (1975). Photo by Tee Corinne (Lesbian Herstory Archives).“The usable air had noticeably thinned as we puffed our way up solid granite, using hands, knees, elbows, and reached what turned out to be layers of toothy spires near the top, stopping to rest in a wash of sand and brush nestled between the bare spikes. Jill sprawled exhausted on the ground. Skip went on ahead without us. In the time he was gone I realized that Jill was sexually attractive, lying on the ground with her muscled, working-class body and short dark hair. Plus, she was breathing heavily in the oxygen-starved air. My rush of feeling shocked me, since I didn’t have a crush on her, had not so much as kissed any woman, and I had to look away.“Skip returned, his long legs angular as he balanced in the narrow terrain. ‘You should come on up — it’s only eighty feet, it’s not hard. And at the top, the stone is so thin and pointed you can practically throw your arm over it, and see the whole Tularosa Plain. You can see into Mexico.’“We were surrounded by the teeth of the dragon mountain, standing in the open maw, and she held her great breath. I looked at him, looked at the spire of greyblue mountaintop not very far above us, and looked at Jill seeming suddenly frail with her eyes closed on the ground. And I said no. If she couldn’t go, I wouldn’t go either. Skip, watching me shake my head, was dumbfounded, repeated his entreaty. I looked at my feet as I shook my head, feeling both strong in my decision and disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see the other side, wouldn’t get to think of myself as a ‘get to the top’ sort of person. Yet here in this grand moment, witnessed by the ever-changing Organ Mountains, I sealed my pact with women. ‘Whither thou goest, I will go.’ And the inverse, ‘I will not go anywhere without taking you with me.‘”— From A Simple Revolution: The Making of an Activist Poet, by Judy Grahn (2012). -- source link
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