Trancendance

The elders said keep them eyes on the prize

To beware of the lies that blind such a path to success

Such stress in its depths I detest as I wear my heart on my sleeve in such a test

Against time,

There's no rhythm or rhyme

As the timeline of history intertwine

With this moment as of now

But pleas tell me how

One is supposed to rise to such an occasion amidst such violent persuasion

You see I hated myself for not being Caucasian

Cursing my name and

Hoping for grace and

But this time it's different cause I understand my skin to be gold

That's what my momma told

She said I was such an old soul whose bold enough to face a world on my own

You see the past has shown

That through adversity one only grows

Yet it's up to me to simply know that

I am enough

As is

A simple gift from the very source of creation that perhaps birthed us all

So I must remember to stand tall

Been through it all so it's way too late to fall

As I recall that love I had for myself before I knew the ills of this world

I'm safe in the eyes of the most high

For true love begins in my eyes

As I lie in bed with covers wrapped over my head

Sometimes thinking twice on this life that I've been taught to dread

But enough said

Because I am my only true protection

So enough with such self-neglection

Life is all about perception

And never mind the results of the past elections

You see I am more that a political pawn

I am a sovereign human being who has a song

With aspirations to only share

Yet first I have to practice some radical self care

Because this world ain't fair

But my heart seems rare

Because I dare to love

First and foremost myself

And only then can I possibly truly love someone else

And begin to build upon this world with the help

Of my sisters and brothers

Who have long envisioned a brighter day

Where rays of sunshine touch all colors of the children who play

In a world with no border, no bombs and no wars

Where accepting oneself is finally not seen as a chore

I yearn for an end to this war that's been waged in my heart

Inflicted by the dark that I've trained to become

Too afraid to feel so I chose to be numb

Internalizing the projections of some scum

But I am done with playing into the status quo game of seeing myself as misery and pain

Choosing to bear my ancestors pain

Yet I reign supreme

Such as the Nubian queens and kings of the past

And the indigenous folks who planted their seeds on this grass

And the Celtic witches who were torn apart till their very last ash

Who grace my side as I stride with the task of creating a whole new world for all of the earths people at last

For no rifle blast or blood from a lash can ever take me back because I'm free at last

I choose to be free internally

Stepping up in my resistance as I take care of me

Knowing good and well that I am apart of the greater we

Humanity be the family

Who can finally see

That in order to be fully free

One must love what they've been taught to hate

For goodness sake, I create

My inner sanctuary

Where I am nurtured as I carry my burdens like a baby with such compassion and grace

I wait with a steady pace in each breathe

No need to be upset

Because it's time that

Fully loving oneself should finally not be seen as a threat

So I take care of myself now cause I'm not yet ready for death

And there's plenty of work to do here yet,

For we are the change we want in this world with each new breathe

As I stride on with each new step

Into the depths of the unknown

As the light of our collective spirits grow

We will create the new today out of the hopes we bear for tomorrow.