«he sees a certain purity/opulence in me that so many others have defiled. and for that i am both terrified and grateful.

i keep listening to NINA SIMONE sing FOUR WOMEN. i played it out loud while looking at photos of a plantation in Louisiana. slave quarters. barracks. large/gnarled trees nearing a century old, lining walkways up to the big house — and it all felt so familiar. I have sensed always how profound, how holy life is, but since beginning this period of my life, i am baptized once again in the intensity of this world.»