Roots & Hope

My birth certificate claims that I was just a ‘90s kid,

Born in the middle of a freezing Detroit night.

But didn’t it know that my heart already had a beat?

Back when afros sheened with Black, unashamed glory,

Back when dancers moved on magical platforms

that elevated them to skyscraper heights,

Back when Stevie Wonder crafted masterpieces

With the ease of stick figures,

Back when Minnie Riperton sang lullabies that magically awakened,

Back when Al Green cooked steaming grits with his voice,

Back when Marvin Gaye wrote an anthology,

Unbounded by the limits of time,

Back when Earth, Wind, and Fire inhaled life into their art,

I promise you,

I was alive.