I Believe in Fo r ever

c Alice Lovelace, 2003

Bless Nature for the diversity of life simple to complex, all in Her plan making the world complete and life sustainable. Bless the Ibo who disembarked ships built to transport slaves then walked back into the ocean, declaring their freedom to be who they desire to be, not what others wish to make of them. Bless He of the talking book, who heard the words and set a course to force a tongue, not his by birth, to tell his stor y. Bless Nat Tur ner and his fever dreams of another path to freedom; genetic reaction to subjugation that courses through our veins. Bless Denmark Vesey, Bless Gabriel Prosser ancestors supreme, linked blood to action. Bless Sojour ner Truth, great deity of faith, bore the scar of a tree on her back to plant her feet on free ground. Bless Har riet Tubman who fought a system as she ser ved a nation, tucked her people in her pockets, delivered what men only dreamed of. Bless David Walker, who signaled the alar m, rallied the minds of those who did what words could not, set the fire in our pens/our tongues/our actions.

Bless Marcus Gar vey and his Black Star Liner, called us back to the blood, to the promise, set Africa in our souls as a destination, re-ignited resistance and r evolution as a God given destiny. Bless Frantz Fanon and his illuminating truths, penetrated the mask to open my eyes to revolution and self-deter mination. Bless Mao, Che, Lumumba, Nkrumah and Fidel for challenging the order of the world and the word; opposing the status quo and class domination, illuminating our connection to the Universe and each other, worker to worker. Bless Mark and Fred, bless Jikki Riley and the countless others who are called each time their names are uttered, the dead and imprisoned that fought a f lawed system. Bless the rabble-rouser in our midst, the radical ones who contribute their gifts as they challenge the system, who life for tomorrow while providing for today. Bless those who care more about life on this earth than eter nity in someone elses heaven, who know who they are and stand fir m in their convictions, who wish only for themselves what they wish for others; food on the table, adequate shelter, clean water to drink, babies bor n healthy, the right to dance when they want to dance, to write their own histories and worship who they choose. Bless those who understand the beauty of revolution, who see others as their equal, all fates as parallel possibilities, revolution as har mony.