Slave Whispers

Slave Whispers

I hear them

Surrounding me in disbelief.

They whisper, “I see her, too!”

Their eyes gently gaze

And study me

As they realize, I am living proof of Maya Angelou’s,

“Hope and the dream of the slave.”

As they study

My skin

My hair

My freedom

My education

Shouts of praise replace whispers in the wind.

Familial bonds filled with joy

Oozing from the little girls and boys

That didn’t make it through slavery’s days.

“I am the hope and the dream of the slave.”

I absorb the immense strength it took to

Beat the odds

Beating the whip.

With family, faith hope and grace.

And the love that remains

In the two room, two family shelter of the slaves.

I walked the grounds

Thanking those that endured

And fought on

And sang praise to get through the day

Because “I am the hope and the dream of the slave.”

So fight on, I must.

Quit. I can’t.

They didn’t so I could

Just be.