Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness.

It has been proved that the land can exist without the country - and be better for it; it has not been proved ... that the country can exist without the land.

In search of my mother's garden, I found my own.

When life descends into the pit I must become my own candle Willingly burning my self To light up the darkness around me.

Some colored people so scared of whitefolks they claim to love the cotton gin.

My activism really is for myself, because I see places in the world where I feel I should be. If there is something really bad, really evil, happening somewhere, then that is where I should be. I need, for myself, to feel that I have stood there. It feels a lot better than just watching it on television.

It's so clear that you have to cherish everyone. I think that's what I get from these older black women, that every soul is to be cherished, that every flower Is to bloom.