I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong no Viet Cong
Acknowledgements
Ariel René Jackson
“I was moved by page 142 because I think a lot about prayer and what it doesn't and perhaps does do. I had to respond because a flurry of images filled me and strong emotions about what ifs and wow how much i know and don't know shit about. Speaking of curse words–I have one and hope that you keep it.
When she died her energy woke me up.
I knew she passed on and again when my cousin passed
I had a terrible nightmare, like I was drowning in someone’s rage
His rage for being cheated out of life
When we break apart I like to think
That we, Black people, create a ripple effect.
An energy surge that we cultivate as we live
As we hope and “pray” we cultivate that energy
But not for ourselves.
There were many times that I could have and perhaps should have ended up
Another Black body found and delivered to their parents phones
Friends would be surprised and consider when our paths divided
My grandma would show up every week and “watch God”
As a mission for herself and her children
Pressing and rolling rosary beads between her fingers
She conducted her own therapy session between
Herself and her eye that extended all the way
To New York to carry me away from death.
I really don’t know shit
Still I’m mesmerized by the power of prayer
Even if I don’t believe in any of it
I’m still alive
In a state of society that doesn’t believe in me.”