Notetaking - poem

i come . . . as a black woman down a corridor of tears . . . pulling my history with bruised heels. (sonia sanchez)

as lillian calls herself 'a strong black queen'

i feel red flashes in my fingers work their way down my spine thru muscles no woman was ever meant to have

i am on fire

i need to burn those words off her page

no more dragging of histories to build boned bridges leading all the way to misery please

i gotta say, lillian girl, follow the straight line from ghana to gory island to harlem u.s. of a. from sojourner truth to winnie mandela to ama ata aidoo to see don't you know

'a strong black queen' is a be-all-you-can-be 20th-century title for a

superwoman sugartitted makedo-mama asswiper mammiefied mule

COPYRIGHT 1999 African American Review
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group