Letter to an Artist

Dear Laura Aguilar,

I am somewhat shy, probably, because my mom is super shy – a nude body makes me blush and her crack up, instantly. I used to wonder if my mom was innocent and naïve, sometimes; in retrospect, she was being a great mother – teaching us how to become empathetic and understanding. No, we never had the sex talk, but she also never stopped me from picking up a book.

 In the fourth grade, I discovered Maya Angelou and she sparked my love of literature. I was a nine year old reading about an eight year old Maya Angelou’s rape; it was powerful stuff, to say the least. She said, “As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal somebody else.” It takes a lot of guts to share an intimate body of work, especially your own body. To go beyond the body, however, and share your experience with depression, is courageous and beautiful. Great art inspires.

Best,

Daniela

Inspired the title of Angelou's autobiography: 

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,


When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,


When he beats his bars and would be free;


It is not a carol of joy or glee,


But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,


But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings –


I know why the caged bird sings.

-Paul Laurence Dunbar