For having such incredibly high standardsYet being the One that carries me over.For showing me where I need to growBut never belittling me.For walking on waterSo I can keep my feet dry.For kissing my faceWhen all it deserved was spit.For denying yourselfSo I could be found.For holding me dearYet never coddling my foolishness.Thank you for […]
Read more "Thank you"Isn’t empty, its waiting for you.Doesn’t have to be earnedBut it does need to be fought for.Can’t be taken from youBut can definitely be neglectedIs the right fitBut you’ll have to grow into it.Other people may not see itAnd for significant periods of your lifeIt may be hidden from youBut if you ever enoucnter itYou […]
Read more "Your place"She was more than one thing.She was not merely a colonial productNor was she a child of the the revolution.She did not claim to speak for her whole raceAnd resented the fact that she was asked to do soHer reality was a thing of miracles and tragediesOf a constant proximity to electrifying povertyAnd sobering prosperityWorlds […]
Read more "Making Africans 3D"How many pats on the backDoes it take for you to believe that you matter?That your contributions count?And once you know itHow much rejection does it takeTo knock you off your square?The battle to believe in your workOften looks like the struggle to believe in yourself.Our work is constantly used as a proxyFor our worth […]
Read more "On believing in your work"Is tricky business.Because it takes a whileTo recognize the thingsThat you always considered ‘normal’To really just be white.Unlearning a strange form of self-policingThat finds many of the non-whiteThings about yourselfSomehow problematic.And doing all thisWithout hating yourselfOr your white neighbour,Because loving bothIsn’t always easy.Unbuckling whitenessIs not about resentmentOr censureBut about coming to rest comfortablyIn a non-white […]
Read more "Unbuckling whiteness"More money will not make the voices stop.Neither will the arms of your biggest crushNor the applause of your greatest critic.The soul chatters incessantlyReminding you how unhappy you are going to beIf things don’t go your wayAnd how hard you need to workFor your ego’s upkeep.It takes a while before we realizeThat we are looking […]
Read more "Soul chatter"The totem poleDoesn’t sum up all of human flourishing.It doesn’t account forYour private wins that no one else cares about,Your secret battles with sinAnd the hard won inner territories,The stutter you learned to stillAnd the healing of the wounded child inside of you,The effort you still make to not let your pastHold you backAnd the […]
Read more "On being sure you’re behind"Are better than friends from high school.That’s my opinion anyway.Because what did I know at 16?About myselfAbout the worldAbout what I wanted in a friendship?Heck, I am not sureI even liked me back then.Friends from collegeAre the ones who found meWhile I was finding myselfAs they were finding themselves,And whenever we meet againIts not a […]
Read more "Friends from college"Are often not the onesBest positioned to see everythingFor what it really is-Like a person who’s never goneWithout light,Straining and struggling to seeIn the darkness,For their eyes are not accustomedTo the experience of thoseWho live in the shadows.Yet their privilege gives them powerThat no one else has,To change the order of things,To make the room […]
Read more "The privileged ones"It is not continually on the vergeOf being destroyedLostOr broken.It is not the kind of thingThat is easily discardedOr misplaced because of carelessnessNor diminished because of neglect.You are a son.You belong to Someone.Room has been made for youYour space has been reservedYour name uniquely givenYour identity unquestionable.Yes, you may often failTo live as though this […]
Read more "Sonship is not fragile"
heartinscriber 