Quote of the day (month, year, decade)

You would rather have a Lexus? or justice?
a dream? or some substance?
A Beamer? a necklace? or freedom?
Still a ni**a like me don't playa-hate, I just stay awake
This real hip-hop; and it don't stop 'til we get the po-po off the block
- dead prez

who i be

I AM....
poet
writer
journalist
anthropologist
intellectual scholar
thinker
activist
dancer
creator
ju-ju mama extraordinaire

I am convinced that the universe is under the control of a loving purpose. And that in the struggle for righteousness man has a cosmic companionship. Behind the harsh appearance of the world there is a benign power. – Martin Luther King Jr.

Sun rays sneaking through an open window warm my right shoulder blade as I gaze at my reflection in a full length mirror. Loose fitting, white linen pants and a white cotton top crinkle and contort while my reflection pirouettes, turning to the left and then back to center, adjusting and tugging fabric into its proper place. With a handful of my course locks in one hand and a piece of cloth in the other, I wrap my hair into the folds of white fabric, making certain to cover the crown of my head. The children and my husband are out for the afternoon and the chaos in my home has been replaced with more than enough space to think and breathe. I almost want to stay home and enjoy being alone but something is pushing me to leave. I have to rush. It’s already 3:45 pm.; the ceremony is scheduled to begin in 15 minutes.
Keys, purse, sandals, money, I gather everything I think I need seconds before a green and white cab glides to a stop in front of my door. “Where too doll?” the driver, wearing a pair of red-rimmed, bifocal glasses, asks while peering over his shoulder. I give him the address to a small house located on the north side of Philadelphia and we drive away from my bustling block. I can tell we’re getting close to the north side so I roll down my window and tilt my head to the side, straining my ears to catch the unmistakable rhythm of solid hands pounding the head of Afro-Cuban drums. Instead all I hear is a chorus of despair; bottles breaking against pavement and babies crying, junkies hustling for their next fix, shopping cars filled with rotting food rolling across the pavement, nothing as beautiful and mystical as the sound of African music and the chants to the gods the protected my ancestors during their travel across the Atlantic.
“Is this where you’re going,” the driver asks while slowing down in front of a coco colored row house. The numbers match the address I was given, but the place seems lifeless, abandoned. I look toward the meter, glowing crimson. I’m $11 away from home, alone in an area of the city I’ve become familiar with through reports on the evening news. Did I write down the wrong address? Did they cancel and not tell anyone? No. This has to be the right place. The voice inside my head, which I’ve learned to call spirit, tells me to get out of the cab, knock on the door and leave my fear on the curb.
The first two commands come easy; but the fear sticks to my soul like chocolate on warm fingers. I’m nervous, a host of thoughts flood my mind and my stomach begins to knot as I pass the driver a hand full of crumpled bills before exiting the backseat. Heavy spices hang in the air and I can hear the faint sounds of pots hitting stove tops as I approach the front door. I ring the doorbell and strain my eyes through the wire screen, but I can’t see anyone inside.
A few seconds pass before a heavy-set woman appears in the doorway. She’s wearing a blue and white dress with a sarong decorated with seashells and starfish tied around her thick waist. She must sense my nervousness because her eyes soften as if to ask "what’s the matter baby?" "I was invited to a bembe," I blurt out, letting the tension in my throat tumble from my mouth and fall at my feet."Come in, come in," she says while stroking my shoulder. “You’re in the right place.”

so sweet ... i think i wanna lick the (w)rapper

This Taurus energy is really affecting me. I’m in one of those crazy moods. Daydreaming about love, romance, yearning for that dizzy feeling you get when you begin a relationship
Scientists have a name for the chemical reaction that occurs when we are in love. I call it Osun; and I have tons of it running though my veins. It wakes me up at night and keeps me in a constant state of yearning.
I’m feeling like I need to retreat and find someone or something to pour some love on.

I have a friend who is starting a business. An ambitious, lovely man with a sun in Scorpio; his determination moves me and I want to help him realize his dreams.

* its' the curse of being one of Osun’s babies: I want everyone to be happy and I will exhaust myself trying to make other people’s lives easier while neglecting my own*

That aside, I like to see him smile. I think I’ll cook up some good ju-ju and send it his way

A brush of his lips against her shoulder sent her spiraling back to where they began. They were young lovers then, each other’s reason to live. Pressing her head against his chest, listening past the staccato rhythm of his heart, she could hear his laughter and smell the scent the cotton left on the surface of his skin after a long day in the fields. But, that was then. Now, here they are again, a century away from where they started, staring at each other each, trying to remember what they both forgot.

If she knew how long they’d known each other, the seriousness in his eyes may not have been frightened her. A woman of 30 years born under a sun in Aquarius, she depended on her sharp logic and intellect. But everything that was happing now - the visions, the voices, the vivid dreams - all worked against her comprehension. Nothing made sense anymore so she decided to yield.

I’ve made some important decisions.
I will no longer be a martyr. I will no longer find comfort in taking one for the team.
I will no longer put every ones dreams before my own. I will no longer attempt to fit my dreams inside someone else’s box .
I will not be afraid of what is beyond the surface, I will meet each challenge with bravery, strength of character and pureness of heart. I
will continue to listen to Egun and allow them to inspire and guide my progress.
I will open myself to the possibilities. I will not deny myself happiness, I will pamper myself, wear heels and make-up and get my nails and toes painted twice a month.
I will continue to be creative through my writing, parenting, dance, knitting, bathing and anything else that brings me joy.
I will not depend on anyone to tell me what is right and wrong what’s best for me and the way I envision my destiny.
I will no longer be self effacing, I will big myself up every chance I get, I will try not to become arrogant
I will try.
I will no longer pass up opportunities to shine I will stay faithful to myself first, my art second and my other relations on a sliding scale thereafter.
I will build a better relationship with money, I will stop convincing myself that money is evil and that I should not have it.
I deserve to be comfortable and surrounded with beauty and light and images and accouterments that encourage my creativity.
I will begin to live with passion and share the warmth of the fire that is bubbling inside, choking me, threatening to do me in if I don’t let her out. I will scream occasionally, just for the fun of it
Alode k'oju ewuji o san rere.We are entitled to wear the crown that awakens all pleasure.