ugandabeinsanfrancisco

I was delicate, lest I am, construed as unbecoming, I never talked of my skin, that subject, being owned, not by me, even if, I carried, the skin around. That Holly place, where I go in, and come out, haloed, or, hollowed, makes me, a subject of whim and whip. Then, Du Bois, oh, that figure, of, astounding, brilliance, taught me, a management, of self and anger. Instead, of, anger, self-disparagement, self-questioning, count to seven, or even seventy, then you will, see, how gifted you are. The animosity, struggles, closed doors, half-smiles, wicked, back-stabs, open up, a veil of ignorance, in which the left arm tied you in, and a right arm will untie you from. Against your skin, a monolith, of destruction, was built, if it were not for you, a white flag, would not be raised, you are anchoring, a cargo ship on which, the flag flutters. One thing, th

In the wee hours of the night, a few hours before twilight, several miles south of Napa, that place whose fires still scorch, smoke wafted incessantly, perhaps brought our way, via these deep gorges, we call canyons, at this gael-land we held vigils, each in their own way, professors and students, non-faculty and maintenance, we knew what was going on, in wine country, we have homes, relatives and neighbors, we have benefactors, well-wishers and friends, we heard of 100's missing, of homes, in the 1000's, grazed to the ground, of people, in the hundreds of thousands, affected in one way or another, we are hopeful, that the dead, are received, in eternity, that the deprived, find restitution, and that the land, recovers and is revitalized, Napa may be in ashes, Napa will rise again.

When in America, yes that beautiful, graceful rich America, proffer your salutation, sometimes once, or twice, be prepared for any rebuttal, or non acknowledgment, fortunately everyone is in a hurry, in this country, one realises, the two, or three track self, the binary is a baseline, short, tall, hot, cold, inferior, superior, noise, music, a presence, of two-someness, an apparent dimorphism, then you get used to it, and your narrow world is in dispute, you seek to tame it, by bowing your head, or opening your mouth, in protestation, or comparison, or simply tell a story, in telling you learn more, some see advice, others tips or, authority, many have default remarks, you acquire a hybrid nature, a crosswalk is also a zebra crossing, wheel is also a steering, a ride is also a lift, a napkin is also a serviette, heavy-set can mean big, one country, many tongues, multitudinous faces, meshing herita

There was this time, way back in time, a Negro walks in, and mesmerizes all gathered, at first he never told us, but later revealed, a Negress was following behind, both reached the podium, and together hummed, sometimes a tenor, at other times a baritone rung out piercingly, for 2 hours straight, Negress and Negro held us in awe! I remembered another place, in another continent, a half-caste sung one of the songs, she told us her mother, had taught her this song, it was a song sung by collective voices, its tune was improvised accordingly, when the collectives had their backs bent, or when they had a dirge procession, sometimes it was sung to celebrate child-birth, when this song crossed over to that other continent, it was a celebratory song, in it sugarcane plantations were miles and miles, this half-caste , mulatto and mixed sung it so well, now that I am here, listening to the Negress and Negro, singing a version

An eye cannot lift a weight nor can a toe rise up in height, a finger points out a line, each to a task, that is diversity's beauty, the sap of life, the hearth's warmth, a birthplace invention from necessity, innovation from scarcity, negotiation from adversity.