Last night was the first session of our  weeklong digital performance intensive honoring Audre Lorde’s “Need: A Chorale for Black Women’s Voices” as a resource for community accountable artist/intellectuals.  Inspired by Omi Osun/Joni L. Jones and the Jazz Aesthetic Manifesto we created this group poem as a performance, practice and primer on what we need in order to be present in our lives and in this intimate work together across time zones and geographical borders.  Here is one arrangement of our poem:

We Know What We Need

i know

i need love

i know

i need to know that

i am loved

 

i know that

(i need hugs on hugs on hugs)

 

i know

we need water

i know

we need art

i know

we need our imaginations

i know

we need trust

i know

we need to breathe deeply

i know

we need LIFE

i know

we need to trust the miracles

yes! i know

we need miracles

 

i know

I’m needing

dancing

 

i know i

need to forgive

i know i

need to let go

i know i

need to accept that

I exist.

 

i know we

need to stop being shamed of our natural smells shapes ideas loves

i know we

need to remember what we hid

i know we

need to forgive ourselves

i know we

need to be courageous

i know we

need our ancestors breathing

i know we

need to continue learning

i know we

need to surrender to freedom

i know we

need to cry

i know we

need to work it all out

i know we

need to exhale

i know we

need to laugh… belly laughs…

i know we

need to mother ourselves

I know we

need to (continue to) connect

i know we

need to reach out for support when the terrors begin

i know we

need to hold hands

i know we

need to practice self love

 

 

i know

we need each other

we know

we need one another

i know

we need to heal

i know

we need to speak each others names

i know

we need to speak each others names in prayer

i know

we need sacred space

i know

we need ritual

i know

we need space to dream

i know

i need this space

this space!!!!

 

I know

i needed to come here tonight… this week.

i know

i need this life because i am here

i know

i need to overcome fear of the unknown

i know

it takes presence to perceive the miracles

i know

that i can always find this space when

i need it

 

yessss

!!!!!!!