Coal by Audre Lorde

Hello readers!

 

I'm currently in Chi-town, (Chicago) attending summer school and doing some research on West-African women in the diaspora. I've been looking for other creative texts to use in my research and also just to keep me thinking. Now I have to learn not only to be a consumer of knowledge but also a producer of knowledge which basically means you don't only accept the knowledge given to you but you also question it. How am I being a producer of knowledge? I am questioning the cultural differences between African American women and African women who grew up in the native West African countries and then migrated here ( and Europe) as adolescents. This matters not only to me, but to future posterity and  any one else who feels the need to be identified not just by name but also by culture and maybe race. This poem speaks to the heart about the color's of our skin and how it primarily affects our identity. If you haven't heard of Audre Lorde then you should!

Coal

I

Is the total black, being spoken

From the earth's inside.

There are many kinds of open.

How a diamond comes into a knot of flame   

How a sound comes into a word, coloured   

By who pays what for speaking.

Some words are open

Like a diamond on glass windows

Singing out within the crash of passing sun

Then there are words like stapled wagers

In a perforated book—buy and sign and tear apart—

And come whatever wills all chances

The stub remains

An ill-pulled tooth with a ragged edge.

Some words live in my throat

Breeding like adders. Others know sun

Seeking like gypsies over my tongue

To explode through my lips

Like young sparrows bursting from shell.

Some words

Bedevil me.

Love is a word another kind of open—

As a diamond comes into a knot of flame

I am black because I come from the earth's inside   

Take my word for jewel in your open light.

Feeling a Little Grey?

In the beginning, God spoke light into existence. There is a light that shines brightly like the sun, yellow, big, and blinding. Then there are the stars which are like silver disco balls hanging in the navy blue sky. Then comes my favorite type of light which extends from curves of the moon. The moon's light does not pierce the iris like the rays of the sun. It is grey like the softness of water. The moon borrows light from the sun and might not be as potent as the sun. However, it can still be seen and has its own spotlight during the night. When you're feeling a little "grey" just remember that you are an extension of a greater happiness but  for now, you're just borrowing someone's light: very soon you will have your own light.

I sincerely believe that God has woven various lesson for mankind through nature. The story of salvation can clearly be seen here. Like the moon, human beings are in a world of darkness but our greatest source of light comes from the sun(Jesus). We borrow our strength and our wisdom from this light and become like the moon.  Even in the greatest amount of darkness one can still identify the moon. It's just that simple. What's your source of light?

Fashion Tip: Grey/silver/ash works like black thus always(all generalizations are FALSE including this one) wear bold colors when you wear grey.

Strength

The Meaning of True Love