The following spoken word poem was originally written and performed for the ‘Join the Rise’ Conference in Vancouver BC. I had the pleasure of opening up both days of that conference with spoken word poetry — warming up the stage for speakers like Danielle LaPorte, Mark Groves, Chela Davison, and much more.

The poem was later featured by Downtown Vancouver’s Poetry Phone in order to uplift Vancouver audiences at the start of the pandemic.

Listen to the poem:

Rise

Why do trees conceal
the splendor of their roots? (III)

And how do the roots know
they must climb towards the light?” (LXXII)

-Pablo Neruda in ‘The Book of Questions’

—-

There was a song 
I grew up hearing a lot as a kid.
It was by the Rankin Family, and the chorus began with the conviction:
‘we’ll rise again.’

We’ll rise again! My mom would sing that song repetitively
as she ripped the wall paper off 
the walls of our two bedroom apartment. 

‘We’ 
were three 
young kids and her. 

I was just old enough to wet
the beige under-layer of the paper
and peel it away —

so intensely satisfying to tuck 
my fingers underneath a really good sliver 
and p – u – l – l,

watching what was unwanted expand along the wall,
eventually falling off into one solid piece,
bigger than my wingspan.

…

Now, 
when I say ‘Rise’
I don’t necessarily mean High Rise, reaching for the sky, being 
the mightiest of them all.

I also mean the early morning; 
when hopefully it’s quiet
except for the tap, tap, tap of your
sturdy feet lingering on the ground. 

…

As an adult, 
I became obsessed with sound;
wanting all of my walls to come tumbling down,
I started teaching myself how to speak
beautifully. Not a crack.
I’d record my voice; play it back, dissect the notes for 
even a shimmer of weakness. 

In my late 20s, when I’d arrived at that place
we like to call ‘rock bottom’ 

I considered this idea of RISING with a type of 
pessimistic hope. the words felt so hollow;
impossible to believe that things could ever be any different. 

So I decided, for a moment, to be fictional. 
Imagined so hard it was unreasonable.
I whisked those impossible words together, and let them melt on my tongue.

Sweet… so I attempted to speak them.
Softly. Poured them into the air. 

‘I will rise’

One step at a time.
But the next day, I was able to get out of bed.

…

In order to RISE to the occasion,
Rise and shine
Rise up!
Rise and thrive

we have to first find 
the sun; 

which doesn’t just rise once, but again, and again:
its’ ritual spilling into the pause of our lingering feet,
tap, tap, tapping their morning beat
into the silence of a new day. 

The privilege of being able to say the word ‘again’
is immense, and doesn’t mean you’re not afraid;

bravery is the knowledge that regardless of what came before

‘you’ and everything you are
is worth fighting for;

again and again,

we open up that bedroom door and
begin to settle in to our childhood whims of magic.

Synchronicity. The right opportunity crossing your path
and your head held just high enough to notice. 

But, we don’t rise alone. 
Of course we don’t. 

We rise together.

Supporting each others mis-steps, mis-directions, detours;
recalibrating our routes as we find our own individual sense of truth. 

Soothing our imaginations with belief. 

…

Now,
when I say ‘Rise’
I don’t necessarily mean High Rise, reaching for the sky, become
the mightiest of them all.

I also mean vulnerability. 
The strength of your community
being caught and catching
as we settle deeper and deeper 
into our collaborative
empowered
new found reality. 

*Photos taken at the ‘Join the Rise’ Conference in 2019.

I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to perform this poem in front of such a warm audience.

I’ve grown so much because of the incredible communities I have surrounding me. They’ve taught me so much about belonging and what it means to be supported, loved, and encouraged to grow. My communities include: CreativeMornings, the Vancouver Acroyoga community, and Breathexperience.

I’d like to end this post with a testimonial from the Join the Rise conference this poem was originally written for.:

“Christine has a magical way with words. She puts her heart and soul into her performances in a way that is uncommon. She is incredibly talented and makes you feel every word she speaks while pairing them with a beautiful stage presence that captivates.

Christine was invited as a spoken word poet to open each day of our conference, RISE. We had one phone call, one coffee meeting in person, and I could hear/see the words forming and intertwining in her mind. I didn’t know what to expect from reaching out, but she completely blew me (and our community) away. “

Kayla Pearcey, Rise

Want to get in touch? Send me an email: christine@9creativelives.com
You can also learn more about me by going here.