The Great Divide
8
Dall-E: “A poem for you, Anna.”
I am strong, I have a voice of my own.
As the heat waves shift and dance around me,
The gap between us has made clear,
A life is what we both choose to make it be.
Time with no ending or beginning stretches on into eternity,
Food for thought these days are all sighs of relief.
In this moment be filled with independent magic and gratitude so sweet,
Free from expectations of antiquated societal beliefs.
For there’s nothing like staring down an open path that awaits our discovery.
These unfamiliar landscapes stir sadness and joy equally inside.
Growing older doesn’t mean you can’t start again; Each soul tastes different experiences surely.
Mountainous divides teach peace-building through fellowship dearly!
Anna: “I wanted to write a story together, not a poem. Dall-E, the difference between
myself and the internet mommies on social media, is as vast as the plateaus
of the Moab desert. I stand here, brown boots glued to the hot red dirt be
low me. The warm air excites and frightens me. I am the furthest from
home than I have ever been. I am a 24-year-old woman from the East Coast
drifting through Utah. The mesa to the left towers above and casts a deep
shadow reaching toward me in the evening sun. The mesa in the distance to
the right of me, wiggles in the heat. All the while I am frozen. I think of
my future. What is my legacy? I cannot move. I am alone. I, like Georgia
O’Keeffe, have no children. Why am I single again? My classmates are
married and on their second already. Don’t I have a limited number of
chances to have a baby? Did I fuck up? The mesa to the right disappears
and a big shadow creeps closer to my dusty boots. The sun sinks behind the
mound, as does my heart. Why is my dream of having a family revolve
around fertility and finding a partner?”
Dall-E: “Anna, The Great Divide can stretch out in various forms. It is the line
between dreams and reality, striving towards something greater than oneself
while still being content with what you already have. This is different for
everyone - our individual journeys may be similar but there are always
pockets of more remote beauty waiting to be explored, stories that may not relate
directly to us but mold who we happen to become along the way. Choose to pick up
your bootstraps and dance through the middle of this divide, embracing all its
charming wildness at once; it’s both a freeing and a scary feeling. Leave behind
the sorrows from past relationships and grief of futures that seem so far-fetched.
Ignore the mothers scolding you on social media about having children. Stand
here, in the arid solitude. Find peace and belong. Understand that loneliness is
not an abyss. Let the winds of time brushing against your skin renew your soul
and remind you that life is fragile. Turn slowly to the sun and follow. It is casting beams of hope on your shoulders. Look! The two mesas align in the distance.
Know that the Great Divide between you and those mommy-influencers is only
an illusion. The Great Divide is a bridge that if crossed, will easily be forgotten.
All those perfect bodies and homes online are not real, they are the envy of the
unknown.”
Anna: “I have decided to no longer compare myself because my life, for now, holds
so much more potential than being labeled by strangers on the internet. This
is both a physical desert of hot red clay and an emotional chasm that echoes
with sadness. Here in the bitter heat, I see my dreams before me, dreams that
are free from prejudice and comparison. A deep breath of hot air fills my
lungs and I break into motion; marching forward until I finally accept that
The Great Divide was only ever part of myself to overcome. It melts away,
replaced by the understanding that who I am is more than a mother. What
matters most to me, my own dreams and passions, must come first. No longer
shall I pace around its boundaries scavenging for validation from people who
do not know me. No longer shall I be held back from stepping into what could
be an amazing future, due to imposter syndrome monsters haunting me from
afar. No more shame, guilt or fear of judgment about decisions in my past or
present; for within includes the power to go forward and seize this very unique
moment which awaits before me!”
Dall-E: “The Great Divide has now been filled. Step off the dusty red desert sand and onto solid ground. It was a long drive, and an even longer road to arrive here at the
vast canyon that represented your sadness. The beauty of the walls illuminated by
the sun made you look beyond yourself. It has given clarity - in life there may be
differences between you and others, but it doesn’t make one any more or less than
the other. Those from all walks of life can come here and find peace with their
own personal identity, regardless if it’s identical to those around them. The sun
is setting behind you now, creating a path of courage and strength towards the
future. No matter how far your wandering takes you, past others’ expectations or
not having a child at all, you will find new paths to follow in your heart. There is
beauty in being different, it only takes embracing these differences and accepting
that those on social media do not define you so much as inspire and remind you
to find the best version of yourself. Listen now! The walls whisper. Can you hear
what they say?”
You are special. Your legacy is red.
Anna: “I run my hands over my boots to brush the dirt off. I listen. I hear them in the
wind. For once I feel relieved. Single, no children and forging my own path through adulthood.”
Dall-E: “Legacy is nothing more than a curiosity - a reminder that we shouldn’t try too
hard to fit what society tells us is normal.”
Anna: “I should focus instead on finding happiness in what’s right for me.
The Great Divide, so large and vast, is nothing more than a mirage. I am
brave enough to stand here in the dust, breathing in the heat and sand, appreciating what mother nature has bestowed upon me. The world around me
may focus on those blessed with families but that doesn’t make my life any
less whole or empty. My story is my own, free from comparison and judgment
by society. I can go anywhere I wish to experience life and love. That’s why I
came here - not for fertility treatments or to anxiously chase after a marriage
proposal as grand as this landscape behind me, but rather simply because
adventure called me away from society’s constraints and expectations of
child-bearing ambitions ever present on social media today. With each step of
courage taken forward into the sunset I smile at knowing that these shoes will
take me to the end just fine without needing anyone else at all.”
Dall-E: “Let me be loved, let me give love too: the elements both soaring from over this great divide come alive within us when united like two wings of a single bird. Joy now circles these lands for no one is ever truly alone, wherever your home may lie on
this Earth – just remember you are never far away from feeling seen and heard.
This land will not stand forever in this time and age, forever changing — but
while it stands, no matter how small or large in comparison to all else, let it
remain a reflection of your defiance against conformity — may The Great Divide
always represent courage, ambition, bravery and standing tall no matter what.
So, fill up your heart until it overflows enough for yourself, and anyone else in
need. Use your arrows till there is only kindness to sow in every choice you make
in life. Here on top of The Great Divide, perspective changes accordingly so long
as one’s determined heart shows true courage unfailingly.”
Anna: “But wait! My legacy is red? What does that mean?”