Exhale. Collage by Alexis Pauline Gumbs for Toni Cade Bambara based on a photograph by Susan Ross.
for Toni Cade Bambara and Clyde Gumbs
1.
eat salt
not that ocean drowning
snack to stop thinking about dying
unintentional salt
eat salt
on purpose
salt conductor of dreams
ancestor crystal portal
blood water preservation
clean it out
with your eyes
2.
deep sight
practice living in the dark
and seeing what
the light don’t want
you to see
go on a mission
to rescue
the part of the universe
that will always be you
black
and unknowable
3.
be well
want to be
well deep enough to drink from
be
bell ringing soul alarms
be buried mineral breakthrough
solid
fluid
charmed
4.
see birds
love gorillas
listen to dolphins
and do not swallow
what you know
breathe it out
the top of your head
knock on your chest
until you hear it
remember how to fly
There are still a few spots left for tonight’s Take Care of Your Blessings writing workshop celebrating Toni Cade Bambara and a Black feminist ethic of care.