I AM ERICA GARDNER!
By Josè Angel Figueroa
I am a woman of many lives
And great-granddaughter of
Those conceived by rape
Born on a cotton plantation
And forced to resist the
Trauma of oppression.
I am the strong backbone of
Sojourner Truth and defiant
Wings of Harriet Tubman.
We lost those lynched and
Hung from poplar trees
Of bodies left burnt crisp
In shallow graves.
Many protests and battles
Still pour from the scorn and
Brutalization of generations.
I am the arch and bond of
These immortal tears who
Survived turbulent times.
I am before and beyond
The chokehold cries of
Black Lives Matter.
I left this world how I lived it:
With an unapologetic will to
Defeat the relentless pain of
Chronic fatigue syndrome.
I am pure vintage Blackness
Screaming from the top of
My lungs for social justice!
By Josè Angel Figueroa
I am a woman of many lives
And great-granddaughter of
Those conceived by rape
Born on a cotton plantation
And forced to resist the
Trauma of oppression.
I am the strong backbone of
Sojourner Truth and defiant
Wings of Harriet Tubman.
We lost those lynched and
Hung from poplar trees
Of bodies left burnt crisp
In shallow graves.
Many protests and battles
Still pour from the scorn and
Brutalization of generations.
I am the arch and bond of
These immortal tears who
Survived turbulent times.
I am before and beyond
The chokehold cries of
Black Lives Matter.
I left this world how I lived it:
With an unapologetic will to
Defeat the relentless pain of
Chronic fatigue syndrome.
I am pure vintage Blackness
Screaming from the top of
My lungs for social justice!
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