Poem of the Week: Rashida James-Saadiya

Rain Dance

we scatter
dodge words that rip into flesh
hide from clenched fist

ache in unison
wait and run

full speed into Mother's arms
her body somehow a magic shield
flying us over everything ugly

as she weeps a muted death

the story always ends the same

we hold on

gathered like broken straps

clinging to memories of light

he twirls in circles

eyes arrow sharp

sometimes he screams at God

or simply smiles at our tears

-Rashida James-Saadiya


Used by permission.

Rashida James-Saadiya is an educator, writer and Artistic Director of Crossing Limits, an inter-faith art-centered non-profit supporting social change, progressive literature and creative thinking. In addition she is a founding member and co-editor of Voyages, a quarterly online journal dedicated to Africana Arts and Culture and the idea that knowledge should be shared.

James-Saadiya attended Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness 2008.

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