Where I'm From

From earth’s brown hands, she made me

A spittin image of my mother

The Creator saw fit; I was counted amongst creation

I emerged

Blessed by the Almighty Auset

Endowed with the wiles and the passion of Oshun

Queen of this new domain

Call me Makeda.

I loved wholeheartedly

Even my own enemies, though I hadn’t known them that way

Too naïve to believe there were men among us who believeth not in Love.

And so, I was bruised. I was broken.

Both separated from and denied my divinity

Convinced I was instead a manifestation of the evil one

Submitted to submission and forgetting all truth

Stripped of my origins

I was bare.

But I

Rallied men like I at the instant I remembered

Radical men whose ideas hadn’t died, just slumbered more than long enough

Reaching to the ancestors for wisdom and truth

I held on and I did not succumb

I accepted the call.

The heavy burden of an entire people was mine to carry and not lay, and my knees could not buckle until I restored I all.

I carry this still.

Grateful for Brother Nat, however, for awakening the sheep

And for Sister Harriet for sharing the load

Who better could articulate my pain than you Brother DuBois

And when I was in need of a deep-seated Brother, Mr. Garvey, your words deserved at minimum a standing ovation

So thank you Sister Parks for reminding me to do so when you stood-- rather sat-- firm calmly amidst alarm and anguish and ambiguity

And to all my Freedom Riders who braved those buses that dropped us off a little closer. Thank you, also.

More casualties still, but Brother King you got through to the masses-- sweetly like sugar did

The perfect complement to the work of my Brother El-Shabazz— stronger than the blackest of all coffees

You lost your lives for my vitality.

I'm forever indebted.

Angela, Katheen, Assata, Elaine, and Mother Moore—my allies

Endless participation.

There’s yet no end to this list.

My pain was heard in Cape Verde like it was felt in the Gold Coast

Plaguing the air in Cameroon while it left a bitter taste in Togo

Morocco, the Congo, Burkina Faso, Guinea

We were enlightened by Nkrumah as we were Selassie I

Mandela, Lumumba, Sankara, Biko

Endless effected nations.

There’s yet no end to this list.

See, where I’m from, there is love still

I come from strength, wisdom, power...

And now, a misplaced peace.

Coming forth from a base that is formidable

The pillars of which have not been because they cannot be fragmented

The pure golden thread of love aligns the same veins from which I shed my blood each time my back was split open, nevertheless

My love fertilized the foundation of all that is today and will be tomorrow.

I ache, I cry, I do grow weary

But the mandate of the Almighty forbids a premature end

Though subtle the blows, I, like emancipation itself, am not yet free.

King. Queen. May my rightful title be restored unto me. I and I. You. Us.

Many refuse to understand and many more simply do not

Persecution I wear like badges of honor

So carry on firelight. Don't dim, dull, or disappear.

From the earth’s brown hands she made me consequently

To encourage, inspire, and persist

To her brown hands it seems I’ve always returned briefly

But fret not. I am timeless. Restless.

Awakened time and time again

A spirit attached to any vessel that has the audacity to arise.

The revolutionary does not die.