Oh/ friends, my friends—/ bloom how you must, wild/ until we are free.

From Cameron Awkward-Rich‘s “Cento Between the Ending and the End“

If I could, I would make a patchwork quilt of life. It would, of course, include poems. It would include lyrics from songs. It would include pictures from places I have been. It would include letters from people I love. It would include favorite recipes and china that has been passed down by generations. It would include precious jewels from my favorite rings and necklaces and pins. It would include lace from my wedding dress and flowers from my bouquet. It would include a lotus, sword and mouse to honor Ganesha. It would include puppy kisses and cat purrs and chocolate chunk ice cream. It would include my favorite Southern sayings like, “knee high to a grasshopper.” It would include the sound of calliopes and compassion. It would include epic stories from far off lands. It would include quiet secrets. It would include sage advice. It would include my definitions of things like abundance, grace, holy, sacred, and love. It would include the blooms from Nana’s peony bush and Granny’s Christmas Eve meatballs. It would include programs from every show and recital in which I have performed. It would include favorite parts of books I have written and books I have read. It would include fan letters to my favorite artists and activists and thinkers.

It would be strong enough to hold elephants and redwoods. It would be vast enough to circle the sky, the earth, and every ocean. It would be joyful enough to make people laugh, like really laugh. It would be deep enough to make people think about their own patchwork quilt. It would be sincere enough to bow deeply to the blessings that have flowed throughout my life. It would be smart enough to contain life’s wisdom. It would be empty enough to make room for curiosity and growth. It would understand the miracle of birth and death, of ending and the end.