by Brande McCleese
For Toni Morrison with extreme gratitude
I have never wished for the bluest eye(s)
Or been called Tar Baby
I have sung the Song of Solomon,
Cried a mercy and sought Paradise
I have been Beloved
Been at Home in the arms of my mother
I have known Love, listened to Jazz
I have been transported through time, experience and
Have been hurtled through the richness of being black and female in America
Simply by turning the pages of her books
I have swam through depression, desolation, slavery and segregation
Given birth, been violated, tormented hunted and haunted in those moments
But I have risen, been reborn like a phoenix
In power and flame
By her words, her knowledge, her acknowledgment of history and reality
I am here putting words on paper in the hopes of evoking the same feelings in someone else
Somewhere
Photo: Public Domain
Brande McCleese is a poet, blogger, shoe addict and professor. The New Jersey native currently resides in North Carolina.
 Or been called Tar Baby I have ...){kind=link}