7/30 - (30/30 Challenge)*
"I Am"
I am an artist.Â
A poetic deity
divined to impart prophetic word power,
I am an angel’s daughter.Â
The wildflower child nurturedÂ
By ghostly absentees
and dearly departed fathers;Â
I am parented by love, pain and pride,Â
the beautiful paradoxÂ
my mother has always been proud of.  Â
I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams
The dream Hughes deferredÂ
And Martin spoke of.Â
Revolutionary like the images Nikki painted
I am the freedom fire that burns ardently
In our Black hearts,Â
our Black mindsÂ
and our Black souls.  Â
I am ancient.Â
I am new.Â
Novel volumes of living not yet envisioned,Â
Of past lives foretold,Â
And generational legends
I am ancestral storiesÂ
recorded in still picturesÂ
Snapshots of golden silence;
The wisdom you once missedÂ
before you learned the muted power of sage sense.Â
I am the blues in your left thigh
Trying to become the funk in your right
The love you were jonesing for
And the silent noise you can’t get rid ofÂ
I am
ClassicÂ
Like Nina,Â
Unbridled passion Â
Rain soaked kisses
And thunderous lovemaking
I’m cataclysmic confessionsÂ
Dismantled fears
And bold risk
I’m the Queen to his SlimÂ
I am the sister of a hustler,Â
a Southern gentleman’s loverÂ
I am trauma resolvedÂ
and broken cursesÂ
I am the inspired hopeÂ
birthed by my future seeds
The legacyÂ
and the lessons sownÂ
I am intentionÂ
Healed wounds
And new beginnings
I am Black magic Â
Erzulie love potions
Beloved babies Â
Disguised as grown woman spirits
I am the genius of Toni Morrison.Â
I am the rainbow for colored girls
A phenomenally risen woman,
Lorde's legacy of building bridges
And honoring difference.
I am wildly, unapologetic
I am Issa Rae's always rooting for Blackness
I am Assata's survivalÂ
Freedom chants
And protest songsÂ
I am Yoruba traditionsÂ
and Kwanzaa ritualsÂ
Indigenous prayer circlesÂ
herbs
and crystals.
I am pagan holidays
Holy scripturesÂ
and sacred text
I am blessed
I am blessed
I am affirmation
In and of itself
I am
I AM