Receive

My fledgling baby body was
Attended to by strangers.
A heavy pressure burdened my left lung
And limited 
The
     Breath
              of
                      life.

But slowly, steadily, I learned 
To receive that oxygen. To breathe in
The love of my black madonna,
To relish the gentle strokes of the hands
of my grandmother,
To inhale the scent of pine trees.

Then, to sing the songs of my family
And my community,
To speak for my muted little sister,
To read all the books to the children of my neighborhood,
To embody the characters of plays and musicals,
And, finally,
To write and sing my own songs
Which relieve the pressure
And bring oxygen to those who hear.