An Act “Spontaneous creativity is a supreme act of trust.” pg. 175-76, One Day My Soul Just Opened Up by Iyanla Vanzant trust the lifting of your mouth the pressure on your cheeks the squeezing of light from your eyes the spontaneous creativity of smilingis a kind shout from your face in service to the world… Continue reading Poem 53 – An Act
Category: On Writing
Poem 52 – Headstones on the Potomac Shore
Headstones on the Potomac Shore The Potomac coughs up headstonesfrom the Columbian Harmony Cemetery. Heavy slabs of memories choke on a storythat won’t stop repeating its violent conflicts. The bodies of 37,000 black residents uprootedreburied – names replaced with the silence of sold markers. For 60 years Keckley, Fleetwood, Shadd and moresix feet under footsteps… Continue reading Poem 52 – Headstones on the Potomac Shore
Poem 51 – Movement
“Social movement doesn’t come all at once, just as it doesn’t come out of nowhere. There are moments when it captures the news, like the National Guard in Little Rock, and then we don’t hear anything about it nationally for a year, two years, three years, four years, five years – and then wham!” pg.… Continue reading Poem 51 – Movement
VANESSA SHIELDS 