Journey to Empowerment by Maria D. Dowd Page B

world that had changed, but not enough that she could allow her children to play in it without questioning the age-old adage that “every man is created equal.”
    â€œRun faster.”
    â€œTry harder.”
    â€œYou have to be better,” she would exhort them while they stared at her, eyes filled with naiveté, never understanding why they were held to a higher standard in the first place. But they were and would continue to be, by no fault of their own. It was just their plight, as it was hers to nurture and strengthen them for endurance. Without it, there would be no way they could survive.
    For that reason alone, she knew there was no point in continuing to tussle with her thoughts. No sense in debating what was already determined. She had been chosen, appointed to bear such a burden, and she could not shirk the responsibility, no matter how daunting. Heartache and agony, never far away, peeked at her from every corner, always prepared to stop and pay a visit. But if she dwelt on what was always a possibility, she would never remember the rewards garnered by her dutiful service.
    The familiar sounds of hunger erupting from her child’s mouth brought her back to her surroundings. Looking down, she smiled, gently nudging the squirming infant, guiding its mouth to her darkened nipple. As it nestled and suckled her, she was happy for the job that she’d been given, of being her mother, and the mother to the entire nation of children she’d borne before her. It was her job and hers alone. To ask someone else to do it would have been unfair. The task rested upon her shoulders. And yes, the weight of it bent her frame every now and then, but who was better suited to raise her daughters to be proud, black women—to love and believe in themselves in the midst of a world that whispers their inferiority, but her…
    A black woman.

Heavenly Body
    B Y L YNDON H ARRISON
    I look upon thee as a flower looks upon the sun, You…are my heavenly body.
    I rise to meet you at the dawn of each new day, Looking forward into the light that your vision brings.
    I see all of creation in a single of your gestures. No greater honor can I hold than the touch of your divinity.
    Angelic being, as your heavenly essence descends deep into my soul, I am blessed.
    Our energy motions attract like the elements of an atom.
    Deep in our emotions…we feel our way home. We are on a crystal-clear path…traveling through the darkness and the light.
    But no diamond could lure me from the perfect gems hidden in just one of your tears. For only we, the stars and our Creator can know the truth about our homeland.
    A place of profound beauty…where we were once one.
    Separated by an age to test our love.
    Unified in this way to complete the ultimate love story.
    Light of the world…our union is indeed.
    Â 
    Your repose makes me sigh the secret breath of bliss. The most essential acknowledgement of love and respect.
    As I open and close the lens of my central eye your image is captured forever.
    On full display in my private gallery—the holy of holies.
    Only you may enter this highest height altar.
    Now your view of my entire being is unrestricted—I am yours.
    Â 
    Signs of the times…we are icons of fertility and stability.
    Heavenly bodies decorated with the blueprints of raw life,
    Our orbits are free in form.
    The first binary star of a new universe of galaxies…of worlds to be born.
    Through the twilight eye light of our beloved ancient guardians
    Our creator honors our ascension.
    They prepare the way as the debris of universal construction implodes.
    Our explosive union is visible to the naked eye.
    Â 
    Blessed is the place where we live.
    Constantly moving in prayer, I give thanks…constantly.
    Angelic woman…my heavenly body.
    Only the most divine word can truly express our love.
    A sacred word hidden in the spirit of our bodacious dancing and stillness.
    Born wild and