present…tense

The magnolia trees are already in bloom in DC. It wasn’t sunny but it was balmy, so I felt like a typical New Yorker in my black coat and black fleece-lined tights (it’s only in the 40s here in BK). I reminded myself to be present and soon got over my out-of-place feeling as my gracious host (and Bee Me Bookshelf founder) Nina Candia drove me around DC. If I ever do leave Brooklyn, I just might head to DC. Not for the fried chicken and donuts, but for the beautiful historic neighborhoods, the architecture, the many galleries and museums that are FREE. Nina took me to the Phillips Collection where we saw Jacob Lawrence’s Struggle series before gathering up her two students who spent the morning writing poetry inspired by the art. We grabbed some Southern fare for lunch and then headed across the river and into Virginia. Madeira is a private school for girls, only some of whom are boarders. Nina kindly invited me to speak to the eleven students in her Black Women Writers class and we wrapped up with a reading from A Wish After Midnight. As soon as class ended, one student rushed back to her dorm and got a comic book she felt I’d appreciate: The Wicked + Divine. I had some time on my own and so perused it in the library—I wonder why comics folks keep trying to suck me in when I don’t read comics and don’t cosplay, but I have to admit they ARE some of the most creative writers out there! In exchange for her generous gift, I gave Barack a copy of The Deep. The young women in the class were very quiet—a big change from my boisterous students in Brooklyn—but I hope I planted a few seeds. Came back to Brooklyn with a migraine and feel very stressed today but I’m thinking of those magnolias and know they’ll soon be blooming here, too. The trick is being present in this moment instead of dwelling on the past or freaking out about the future. I’m still coughing and now my throat is super sore, but I’m looking forward to Friday’s diversity conference in San Francisco. And I’m really looking forward to meeting radical librarian Amy Cheney and the young women she serves at the Alameda County Juvenile Hall. Scattering seeds far and wide…