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APROPOS THE WORD
(FOR MAYA ANGELOU, 2001)
There is something about the word
You give life to; a sense of
Urgency flowing from the womb
Of mind.
There is something about the way
You gather the word
Into full bosoms, nourishing legacies
Of well traveled dirt roads
Often paved with blood debts to be paid.
There is something about the way
You carry the word up and deep
Peeking through shades of his story;
Imaging life on the canvas of time
Traveling over and back across tracks;
Down to the Quarters
Where Sons and Daughters can dig deep
While they weep: filling holes in their souls.
There is something about the way
You form the word into a quick pregnancy;
Birthing life over steady black bridges;
Teaching prayers in dances of dreams;
Revealing profound simplicities only God can bestow:
That the word should be heard in ebony visions
Of timely decisions of Queen Mother Maya Angelou!
And that’s word!
