I need her to know…
(An ode to Maya Angelou)
I need her to know that she is a motivation, a guiding light and my moral compass
I need her to know that when I hear her voice I get chills. Not the chills that show up when my mother used to say she was going to tell my father of some wrong doing done while he was at work, but the kind of chills created when you find out that your grandma knows that you were being “fresh” with the boys after church. The chill her voice induces is different. I want to make her happy
I need her know how beautifully inspired I am by her words. I need to somehow let her know that her story and mine are intertwined. That I’ve been there and at times I go back because the darkness takes over, but her words, voice, spirit and strength are my light
I need her to know that when she passes her baton that she can trust me to catch it. She needs to know that I will take it firmly and run with courage, strength, determination and conviction
I need her to know that I will strive in the most humble way to be for another brown girl what she is to me
-Leslye Folmar
