The Prophets(116)

It is difficult

to be among these trees

that have been complicit in the destruction of so many people;

every leaf, every crack in the bark, every drop of sap, every twisted root: guilty.

But don’t they stand anyway, tall and thick in denial

blocking out the sky?

Blessèd be the ones who gaze upon the night and holy are the ones who remember.

And memory is not enough!

Kosii!

To know from beneath:

That is a story only a prophet can tell.

But with the world being what it is and the world being what it forever will be never without a grieving heart.

à??!

Here is the fire now:

dancing, destroying.

But honestly

only wanting to be sung to

softly

sweetly.

It is a dying flame

shrinking

flickering

waiting to be extinguished

finally

by a lullaby.

But there are no singers left.

For the noose has already been hung.

The bond has already been broken.

The seen has already been foresaw.

The then is arriving now.

And nothing in creation able to stop the coming.

Nothing except You.





Acknowledgments

Please forgive me if I forget to mention your name.

James Baldwin: It is in your name that I found the justice that my heart craves, the fairness that my mind seeks, the peace that my soul remembers, and the triumph that my body has been waiting for. You asked that we find you in the wreckage. We did that, “Pop.” Now we shall gather the pieces and build a fine altar to your intellect, light candles, and love you the way you loved us: with gratitude.

Jandel Benjamin: Auntie, I write because you were the first in our family to write. I saw your poems and it made me know that writing didn’t have to be an intangible dream. It didn’t have to be a hobby. It could be real. Thank you for that gift.

Sherise Bright: Your friendship/sisterhood is an entire blessing and I’m so grateful that the universe saw fit to bring us together. You are a constant source of optimism, faith, humor, and intuition. You predicted this moment and I thank you for your insight into things that cannot be seen, but only felt.

Victoria Cruz: You are a living legend. What a blessing it was for me to bask in the glory of one of our greatest foremothers. Thank you for your advocacy, grace, humor, fierceness, and love.

Valerie Complex: Your genius amazes me. I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone so effortlessly and endlessly creative, funny, beautiful, and kind. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to know what I know: that your gifts are inspiring and life-changing. Love you, sis.

George Cunningham: It was you who gave me all that the American education complex denied by showing me the truth they never intended for me to see. It was in your course, “Reading Race,” that I learned that my perspective and purpose was not some aberration, but was actually the latest in a long tradition of resistance. I don’t know how to repay you.

Ava DuVernay: I don’t know how you find the time to do it: create an endless stream of magnificence and also embrace us and laugh with us and break bread with us and dance with us and keep us ever so close. That is nothing short of miraculous and you are nothing short of a miracle. Thank you for giving of yourself so that we all might hold our heads a little higher. I ride or die for you, sis.

Janet Jackson: You have left an indelible mark on me, not just with your angelic voice, impeccable dancing, bright smile, sauntering stage work, and fierce music, but also with your seething intelligence and unyielding social consciousness. I broke my mother’s dining room chair practicing “The Pleasure Principle” back in 1987, but it was all worth it because “Rhythm Nation” showed me, in ways accessible to an eighteen-year-old mind, that I had a responsibility to help make the world a better place for not just myself, but all those who are oppressed. Thank you.

Joan Jones: Ma, you always say, “He raised hisself,” but what you don’t know is that your courage, liberty, take-no-shit-from-nobody stance, rejection of patriarchy, skepticism of all belief, requirement of hard facts and tons of evidence, acceptance of violence as a defensive option when necessary, and insistence on being precisely who the fuck you are irrespective of who did or didn’t approve was the example that I needed to survive and thrive. You are an outlaw and a free woman. And I thank you for it.

Tron Jones: My blood brother. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for your laughter. Thank you for holding on despite the things holding you back. Please—share your writing with the world.

Sally Kim: My vision board foretold of our meeting and of our melding. Thank you for your knowing eye and discerning heart, undying support, respecting what I am attempting to do and say, and for helping me to focus and fine-tune so that others might likewise respect those things. Thank you, also, for understanding my superstitions.

Kiese Laymon: Brother. You are such a tremendous source of love and light that English isn’t suitable enough to describe you. Your belief in my ability carried me high when I was extremely low. Your writing—your deep, rigorous writing—gave me permission to say what I feel I have to say. Thanks are not enough, but thank you.

PJ Mark: I have never had someone believe in my work so fiercely, fight for it with such diligence, and defend it with this level of tenacity. I heard that in the agent industry, they call you “The Pitbull,” but I think James Bond is more accurate. Thank you so much for your guidance, kindness, expertise, and no-nonsense approach to my work and my career.