Findings poem

Excerpted from my doctoral dissertation

Decolonial pedagogies are pluriversal
Vitality-centered
Relational
Contextual
Abolitionist
In service to and oriented around life, buen vivir.

There is no one path, recipe or way
There are many paths and ways
We might meet each other on the road – at a crossroads, perhaps
On this lifelong journey
An alive quest
Of learning/unlearning.

We might (re)orient ourselves together with compass points, moving towards
Seeing relationships: ourselves, our bodies, the land, each other
Generative conflict
Relationships that are intergenerational, horizontal, long-term,
Relationships grounded in trust, consent, reciprocity, accountability, commitment, vulnerability, love, rigorous care.
We may orient towards
The Pluriverse
An education for life, in service to life, connected to life, not separate from life Lifelong becoming
Grounded in epistemic justice and
Collective love-based leadership
As we play in the cracks
Holding the tension, complexity and complicity together
With a heavy dose of reflection, humor, and play.

May we be lighthouses
Rigorous in care
Creating generative fields
Of growth, love, care, trust, and transformation
Vast enough to hold all the complexity and tension.

It is so important that we do the work together
At the core
Because we can’t teach what we don’t know
And yet,
We are all trying to figure this out together,
And we can hold both of those things The importance of doing our inner/collective work
And knowing it may not be enough
That we will still not know and we can only figure things out together.

May we choose to see relationships
And seed relationships that are rooted in a different kind of soil other than colonialism
But it is the soil we were planted in
So how do we compost to create a soil that is more generative, less toxic, less harmful, more life-sustaining, nurturing, caring?
How do we become seeds in the cracks of the walls of colonial architecture?
How do we
Decenter without disappearing
Decenter without re-hierarchizing
Decenter without romanticizing
Decenter and reintegrate to make whole
Reach beyond without bypassing?

May we ask questions that may not have answers, and be willing to be bewildered. May we (re)orient ourselves and be willing to get lost, not knowing where we are heading.
May we be seeds in the cracks of the colonial capitalist white supremacist patriarchy Growing other worlds where many fit
Vines reaching towards otherwises
Out of and beyond ivory tower cracks.

May we learn, unlearn and learn beyond towards a world where it’s easier to love.
May we learn and unlearn to decolonize.
May we learn to be in service to life.
May our actions be more honorable.

Click here to listen to this poem as an Instagram reel created by my friends at Ecoversities Alliance.