you and I
come from a
long line of sisters who
walk softly and carry big switches
in their hands
in their hips
and often
with their hands
on their hips
their backbones: high and regal
like their cheekbones
and their chins and
even after hard lives
lost victims distill
in their ancient hums
that rock cradles
and prayer meetings
and gravesite gatherings
up yonder, our long line of sisters
run ancestral affairs and
dream futures into being
Regina Harris Baiocchi
Blues Haiku & other new poems, copyright 2008 Sussami Books. Used with permission of the author.
