this is her burning request for more, her desire to check the chaos trying to control her soul. this is poetry and prayer over music

We had a “wake me” moment. And the whole world exploded after

watch on youtube | watch in library

“set fire” ~ enjoy the full spoken word poem

why poetry and prayer?…

I had gotten used to being aware of things that too many ignored

I had gotten used to how black people are routinely seen, judged and dismissed. Gotten used to the dynamic emotional skills you have to develop in order to navigate that kind of drama, daily.

I had gotten used to the quiet anger and the constant longing for ~ more awareness, more understanding, more justice.

I had gotten used to all the sleeping beauties around me and the small army of revolutionaries in motion with me.

I had gotten used to that version of the fight ~ naturally, spiritually and emotionally.

and then “we” woke up

Not just me and mine. But “we.”

We woke up as the secret hate took center stage ~ again because it was

• front and center April 4, 1968 as Martin Luther King took a fatal bullet to the chest. And even though his death set the country on fire, the secret hate didn't die. It was
• front and center March 3, 1991 as Rodney Glen King suffered a beating from LAPD that set the entire country on fire. And still the secret hate didn't die. It was
• front and center May 25, 2020 as George Floyd took his last breath at the hands of Minneapolis police. And the way he died set the country on fire
  ~ again.

We've been burning for a long time from the pain of hate. And if we don't deal with the core issues ~ spiritual blindness and systemic racism, then…

some of us will…

Some of our hearts will bleed for the forgotten ones in our communities. And when your bleeding heart calms down, you'll go back to sleep.

And some of our cities will burn until the young ones get tired of screaming into the wind, and then, most of us will calm down, and you'll go back to sleep.

And in another 20-30 years something will shake us awake and the entire country will cry ~ again. ~

And when all the tears have bled out of your eyes, you'll go back to sleep.

Unless.

Unless you set fire to your secret hate.

Now that's my spiritual dream, I know.

“set fire” is poetry and prayer as I feel it. But it’s also a relentless desire, constant longing and personal confession caught on film.

So, Listen. Enjoy. And if it touches you — Share it. Watch the full video at the top of the article.

poetry and prayer for growth