Toni's Room

yesterday I saw the profile of a woman
a black woman
a BEAUTIFUL black woman
as we all are
and her gentle face told the history of a people

she has a small, dark face
full of wrinkles
full of beautiful wrinkles
telling everyone
how she survived the torment of slavery
how she cultivated her own land
how she carried her great-grandchildren on her back
in the hot Georgian sun
how she fought to keep hold of her land
so her descendants would always have a piece of the south
how she had lived to be 99 years old

yesterday I saw the profile of a woman
a photograph of an old black woman
a beautiful black woman
who carried my father on her back
who wore the scars of slavery
who was born into slavery and died on her own free soil
a woman
who lived to be 99 years old

and I never knew the value of
that red Georgian soil
until I saw the gently wrinkled face
of my great-great grandmother
who shaped my future
in the palm of her hands

Originally written: 11/14/84