Yosenio Lewis

THE DASH--FOR STEPHANIE, UKEA AND GWEN

I know that it's not been easy trying to make it in this crazy world
People around you trying to stop you stop you saying that you don't belong
You must remember that you were born with blood of kings and queens and can't be stopped
Stay strong my sister you can't be stopped
No you can't be stopped**

Listening to Janet Jackson's words I think about your dash-that line that represents the journey between your birth and your death
I think about how small that dash may seem to some, when the sum total of all of your years on earth was a scant 54-17, 18 and 19

Oh but my sisters you live on, your journey has but taken another form
Your 17, 18 and 19 year old voices resonate in the hearts of those much older than you
Your courage and joy inspire a woman's bravery that humbles this man

You are queens
You are beautiful, beautiful women
Women of youthful vigor
Women of royalty
Women of color

Women whose dash
Exceeds earthly confines
Whose presence elevates the struggle
and arouses a passion for justice

My sisters, my lovely sisters
I am a member of your village
And this is my love poem to you

I accept your challenge to carry on the work
I accept your challenge to embrace the dashes of all those who have suffered
I accept your challenge to love myself
as I have loved you

My sisters, my lovely sisters
Indeed, you were born with blood of kings and queens
and can't be stopped
No, you can't be stopped