Prayer Edition | Day 7 | Ntozake Shange

“I was missing somethingsomething so importantsomething promiseda laying on of handsfingers near my foreheadstrongcoolmovingmaking me wholesense pureall the gods coming into melaying me open to myselfI was missing somethingsomething promisedsomething freea laying on of handsI know bout/laying on bodies/laying outta manbringing him all of my fleshy self & some of my pleasurebeing taken full eager wet like I get sometimesI was missing somethinga laying on of handsnot a manlaying onnot my mama/holding me tight/sayingI’m always gonna be her girlnot a laying on of bosom and womba laying on of handsthe holiness of myself releasedI sat up one nite walking a boarding housescreaming/crying/the ghost of another womanwho was missing what I was missingI wanted to jump up outta my bones& be done with myselfleave me alone& go on in the windit was too muchI fell into a numbnesstil the only tree I could seetook me up in her branchesheld me in the breezemade me dawn dewthat chill at daybreakthe sun wrapped me up swinging rose light everywherethe sky laid over me like a million menI was cold/I was burning up/a child& endlessly weaving garments for the moonwith my tearsI found god in myself& I loved her/I loved her fiercely”  Spiritual Warrior Ntozake Shange. She invited us to find God in ourselves. She ushered entire generations of Black women into liberation. She wrote for those of us who didn’t yet exist. “So, we could have something here when we arrived.” That something was a vision for our lives that was bigger than our trauma. A vision that stitched together the words that had been snatched from our grandmothers’ tongues. She brought them back to life with vivid colorful detail and pain searing truth that forced the world to look our humanity in the face. Through her words, she said all the things that needed to be said. She wrote a Pslam and sang a Black girl blues. She resurrected the weary souls of Black women by breathing holy life into them, one stanza at a time and for this, we celebrate Ntozake Shange as the Patron Saint of Black Girl Healing. Thank you for serving us with such fierceness, dear sister. Today we tell your story. Let each step on today’s walk bring forth more of your powerful works into this world.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or interview excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:I Am Light - India Arie:https://open.spotify.com/track/6XgtZdXJN7R9Myu80BGebR?si=PGjMQ99pRXarW-70Gc_8SAA Laying On Of Hands (I Found God In Myself):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0ksLhou1mg&feature=youtu.be