Womanspeak: Voices from an Archaeology of Silence New and Collected Poems: Notes from a Retired Therapist

By Carol Thomas Ph.D.

This book of poetry consists of new and collected poems, with an appendix that illustrates work I have done throughout the yearsoften when I was teaching creative writing or womens studies, and also when I was engaged in private practice with Shoreline Psychiatric Associates. The text represents a womans vision of her world, embodied, tactile, deeply sensuous, and erotic in the sense of being connected, wired to the universe.

Before my recent retirement, I worked with multicultural and intriguing populations-women prisoners, drug court appointed adolescents, some of the 1 percent, and many of the 47 percent, as well as what some politicians would call a permanent underclass. A dual professional life in terms of both teaching and private practice has provided for me the richest, deepest learning environment one could hope for.

The poems as well as the appendix attempt to illuminate and explicate the essence of womens engagement with herself, her relationships, and the world. The poems also explore her intelligences, epistemologies, theoriesher often quotidian delight as William Carlos Williams defines it. Womens experience echoes Whitmans expressions of his love of the natural world and his insistence on achieving a capacious imagination. My poems are feminist, in the way in which Virginia Woolf defined it in 1938, in her wickedly witty, antiwar, prowomen book, Three Guineas. Her use of the word was to suggest the egregious inequality between women and men. It is a brilliant treatise on the subconscious roots of patriarchy, and she observes that war is the plaything, constant and the deepest desire of men. Woolf had hoped the word feminist would become obsolete as equality, cooperation, and friendship would erase the term. In a volatile dispute discussed in her book as to whether women should be ordained into the English Anglican Church, its reigning body of officials brought in Professor Grensted, a well-known psychologist, to help in resolving the dissension and division. Ultimately, after much thought and study, Professor Grensted declared that there was no theological or intellectual reason that the women could not be ordained, but they should not be ordained due to the stress and agitation it would cause among the male clergy. In his conclusion, he noted that the real reason the women could not be admitted was mens infantile fixation against women, a fixation deeply unconscious and seemingly unchangeable, and an inseparable element of patriarchy. A woman was first ordained in the church in 2006, first female primate, in the Anglican community. Some contemporary religious traditions in America today continue with these issues.

Currently, our nation, our earth is in crisisreferring to our perpetual wars, the depletion of the earth, and its millions of starving peoples all over the world. The poems in this book both critique our inability to accept truth and the natural world and the call to celebrate the gifts of womans livesmercy, insight, unequivocal generosity, keen sensibilities, new visions. Let us hope that 2015 ushers in and implements the values of each human, each species, every living creature, tree, rock, cloud, sun, sea as of infinite value.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503565975

Carol Thomas Ph.D.

Dr. Thomas and her recently retired husband, Dr. Frank Thomas, a surgeon, now reside in Palm Coast, Florida, where they are surrounded on all sides by old scrub palms, oaks, sea grapes, and hundred-foot tall pines. Both of them agree that this is the most beautiful place they have ever lived. Dr. Thomas has published seven books of poetry, including three chapbooks. “Womanspeak” will be her eighth book.

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Copyright © 2015 by Carol Thomas, Ph.D.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2015906732

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5035-6595-1

                Softcover        978-1-5035-6596-8

                eBook             978-1-5035-6597-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 04/27/2015

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Contents

About The Book

Life Studies: Natural Law

Some Questions You Might Ask:

What If The Women Are Right?

Bodies On Earth

A Country For Old Women

Old Woman Poet

Green Prairie Morning

Among The Exiles

Poets

Black Gold

Bone: War Zone

Calling Back For My Father

Morning Pages

The Narcissistic Poet

Convoy

Dreaming Of Warm Things In Winter

Homo Sapiens

Prairie Dwellers

Poems

Evolutionary Dance

Feminine Mystique

Anthropologists

Here We Are

Fireflies

Going Outside At Night

Gorgeous Glimpse Of Calamity

Hard Times

Hazardous To Your Health

Hermit

How Poetry Can Save A Life

Insomnia

See-Through Woman: Psychotherapy 101

Prairie Home Companion

Insomnia II Love Unconditional

Last Days

Life With Horses

Lightness In Old Age

Love Poem For The Universe

Midnight Pages

Miracle

Old Age Winter Morning

Hardscrabble Prairie

My Mother’s Hands

Tongue-Tied Woman Ii

Surprise

Ode To My Winter Horse

Wine Me, Wine Me

Negative Capability

Ode To Useful Things

New Stories

No End In Sight

Oblivion

Old Woman

Zen Death

On The Origin Of Species

Playing With Today

Second Blooms Winter On The Prairie

Prairie Miracles

Prairie Dweller

Prairie Wind

Rain On The Prairie

Prairie Spring

Riding Away From The Parade

Thanksgiving Day

Three Guineas

Waiting For Spring

Looking Anthropologically

Notes Of A Retired Therapist

Appendix A:

See-Through Woman Anna At Twenty-One

Returning Words To Flesh Carolyn At Thirteen

Field Notes

Dedication

To the many, many voices of women: friends,

colleagues, clients, patients, poets, and writers

whose courageous and inspiring words culminated

in the writing of this book. Thank you.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book of poetry consists of new and collected poems, with an appendix which illustrates work I have done throughout the years––often when I was teaching creative writing or Women’s Studies, and also when I was engaged in private practice with Shoreline Psychiatric Associates. The text represents a woman’s vision of her world, embodied, tactile, deeply sensuous, and erotic in the sense of being connected, wired to the universe. Before my recent retirement, I worked with multicultural and intriguing populations-women prisoners, Drug Court Appointed adolescents, some of the one percent, and many of the forty-seven percent, as well as what some politicians would call a permanent underclass. A dual professional life in terms of both teaching and private practice has provided for me, the richest, deepest learning environment one could hope for. The poems as well as the appendix attempt to illuminate and explicate the essence of women’s engagement with herself, her relationships, and the world. The poems also explore her intelligences, epistemologies, theories, her often quotidian delight as William Carlos Williams defines it. Women’s experience echoes Whitman’s expressions of his love of the natural world and his insistence on achieving a capacious imagination. My poems are feminist, in the way in which Virginia Woolf defined it in 1938, in her wickedly witty, antiwar, prowomen book, Three Guineas. Her use of the word was to suggest the egregious inequality between women and men. It is a brilliant treatise on the subconscious roots of patriarchy, and she observes that war is the plaything, constant and the deepest desire of men. Woolf had hoped the word feminist would become obsolete as equality, cooperation and friendship would erase the term. In a volatile dispute discussed in her book as to whether women should be ordained into the English Anglican Church, its reigning body of officials brought in Professor Grensted, a well-known psychologist, to help in resolving the dissension and division. Ultimately after much thought and study, Professor Grensted declared that there was no theological or intellectual reason that the women could not be ordained, but they should not be ordained due to the stress and agitation it would cause among the male clergy. In his conclusion, he noted that the real reason the women could not be admitted was men’s infantile fixation against women, a fixation deeply unconscious and seemingly unchangeable, and an inseparable element of patriarchy. A woman was first ordained in the church in 2006, first female primate, in the Anglican community. Some contemporary religious traditions in America today continue with these issues.

It would seem to come as a breath of fresh air when we read that Leon Trotsky suggested that until men have the vision of women, the world will never change. In essence, as patriarchy continues as the religion of the world, informing and reinforcing the devastation of totalitarianism, we see the effects on our lives here and elsewhere. It is an increasing and