Words

I've always had a love affair with words. I started writing poetry in elementary school and eventually found myself reciting poems at spoken word venues in New Orleans and Atlanta. I loved to write, to listen, and to hear words. I learned that my words had power. I learned that I could speak and people would listen. I could write and people would read. I learned that my words had weight. I learned that I could inflict pain with my words. I could inspire with my words. I could condemn with my words. Proverbs says, "death and life are in the power of the tongue." Are you speaking life or are you speaking death? Use your words. They have power. 

I’ve been in love with these words for some time

learned how to make them mine

and not get caught up in titles, cause they never really define

what’s between the lines

I learned that time heals all wounds

And hurt don’t heal soon,

So, I’m taking my time

When it comes to composing our rhyme scheme

Finding out what maturity means

Cause I’ve seen

what life is like without me and these words

without me and these verbs

without me being heard

clearly, its bigger than me

I stopped writing poetry

When it started writing me

Defining me, literally

putting my mind’s imagery

into stanzas and verses I’ve only heard mentally

It’s like my heart got a pen

And it won’t stop writing

These words ….

-Khia Stone

Narrative

Growing up in New Orleans was a fascinating story all by itself. Add in Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Essence, and Bayou Classic and you've got stories for days. I went to a very Afrocentric Baptist Church that had the seven principles of Kwanzaa on the wall. I knew what the African Diaspora was before I learned American or Louisiana History. Adella Adella the storyteller visited my school and told me stories about Flying Africans. I read all about Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. I learned all about my rich history, and what the African American narrative had been in this country.

Currently, that narrative is changing. We are reconstructing that story. We are our ancestors wildest dreams, and we have the ability to rewrite our narrative. We no longer have to stay within the confines of the page. We are telling our own stories in film and television. We are launching lucrative businesses. We are entrepreneurs. We are writing our own narrative. What's yours?