Power Rising 2019
I’m leaving IAD Headed to where the Black Women convene A tight fist forming in my stomach And a sudden realization as the plane ascends That the ground has always been there Greens and browns so distinctly natural I mistook my bare feet for the roots of an oak tree And watered myself, often and tenderly
My chest heaves and tears prick the corners of my eyes as I sink into this unfamiliar shade of blue Bright and ethereal as god herself When she Placed it here And sent me to the place where black women go To dance, to heal, and be Our most untethered selves So I could see what she sees Catching my grandmother’s eyes in the clouds And her voice on the faint hiss of wind rushing past me before The ground soon becomes blurred by clouds And I’m lost to the heavens The long home of my ancestors
I’ve craned my neck so many days to send my voice here Where prayers go and root… Where I’ll always be.