Tag Archives: Birmingham Alabama

It’s Happening Again

At first, I didn’t even recognize it because I have tried so hard to push past the pain, to revel in spring’s sunshine instead of the doldrums of the day. I’ve turned off the TV, refused to watch the videos, tried to ignore the social media commentary, yet it still caught up with me. It’s happening again. George Floyd’s murder trial, Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo Anguish as the dread in the pit of my stomach resurfaces Unfathomable fear as I watch my black son, my literal heart outside my chest, navigate a world that views him, his innocence, his existence, […]

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Who’s Checking on Mom: The Necessity of the 4th Trimester

The Trimesters Expectant parents need only to google “pregnancy trimesters” and in two seconds find themselves inundated with everything from blog posts to detailed infographics chronicling the baby’s growth and development over the next 10 months of gestation. Need to know how big baby is at 24 weeks, the ins and outs of the oral glucose tolerance test, or the signs of labor – the internet has answers. Pregnant mommies see the Obstetrician 12+ times over the course pregnancy to ensure that baby is healthy and growing as expected and to reduce the risk of obstetrical complications for both mom […]

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No Seat At the Table?

At whose table shall I sit? Is there a space for me? Well, how many tables are there? And who sits at those tables? Is that even where I belong? Maybe someone saved me a chair … Perhaps space was divinely created for me … Or does my spot remain cast aside, ignored, and unwanted? Should I force my way in and pull up my own chair? You know, shift folks so I get into position Or I could ask permission, politely with a smile Spout pleasantries, curtsey, and grin Then might they let me in? Nah, I’m not forcing […]

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What COVID-19 is Still Teaching Me

Honestly, there are many moments when I am utterly amazed that COVID-19 is still here. Still! We are still wearing masks, we are still sheltering-in-place, we are still opting not to visit most of our family, and we are still choosing to postpone most of our travel plans. While there are still a lot of things that we are not yet comfortable doing thanks to this global pandemic, the COVID-19 experience continues to teach me some important life lessons. COVID-19 Lessons The peace that is unbusyness – Busyness is my thing. I’m always busy – hustlin’ and juggling work marriage, […]

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Higher Love

Love – both heady and sweet, passionate and tender, heavy and carefree. Love inspires. Love accepts. It encourages. It creates a magical holding space. It desires good things – if it’s healthy love. But, toxic love harms, constrains, belittles, and wreaks havoc upon the soul. I want healthy love, a higher love; a love that endures, that earnestly seeks the best even when overwhelmed by the worst.

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Crushed by the Weight of My Pain

This poem is not meant to offend nor condemn but instead to ease the torment lying on my heart and to shed light upon the indelible impact of collective racial trauma for people of color who continue to repeatedly and painfully witness the tragic murders of unarmed black men and women A poem for George Floyd while the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor remain woefully fresh on my mind Hot, searing tears sting my cheeks My fragile heart breaks again Unbearable pain literally grips my chest Closing around my throat, choking my words My body trembles, my brain […]

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