Shifting Transitions

          (For Claudia Tate, June Jordan, Barbara Christian, and Gwendolyn Brooks)

the days grow longer

with each breath

i can feel

yr spirit

slowly slipping

pulling and resisting

shifting transitions

before gracefully

surrendering

to yr god given destiny

to merge

and become One

of our ancestors

to look upon us

with renewed strength

from up high

and say-

              i have lived

              i have loved

              i have dreamed

              i have taught

              i have built

              i have fought

and i have learned

that i am a black woman

rich and delirious with grace

a collector of words

and oral histories

resonant with the beauty

and secrets

of our ancient ancestral past

i have untangled the roots

of my own psychology

the madness which plagues

colonizing Others

who inherit the Law

and seek to project

their repressed fantasies

or perhaps love (I)maginary

onto the souls of black folk

wrestling to free themselves

from double-consciousness and

misplaced desire

i have carried the torch

and cleared a new path

planted the sweet seed

and spirit of life

into the next generation

so that they might also

break free of limiting boundaries

love themselves unconditionally

in this racist, sexist, and capitalist economy

which teaches them to doubt

and despise

their own beautiful black skin

i have inspired (m)others

lovers

sisters

warriors

teachers

freedom fighters

activists

conjurers

sheroes (and heroes)

to write themselves into existence

and to share their herstories

with the world,

to map out their destinies

and show us all

what it means

to be truly human

surviving with dignity

refusing to remain victim

or limited by our gender, race, or class

i have shaped intellectual discussions

opened new avenues of inquiry

and encouraged both

black and white scholars alike

to praise

deconstruct

and celebrate black womanhood

the collective chorus

of self-proclaimed sisterhood

        I say-

                   who will look on me

                   continue this legacy

                   and great tradition

                   of black women's writing?

        I say-

                   who will look on me

                   pass it on

                   re-member my name,

                   and finally be renewed?

Copyright 2002. Jamie Walker. All Rights Reserved.