Five Things

The Future Can Be Real For Me Now

Who knows what I’ll do next?

The last photo I took in Manhattan pre-quarantine

Five Things is a weekly essay of five short thoughts inspired by my own life and observances. Here are five things I’ve considered since Joe Biden was elected President of the United States of America.

One.

Buying a house.

Two.

Having a baby.

Three.

Running naked through the forest. (Except for airpods playing Kate Bush and a napsack full of candles and cut fruit)

Four.

Going back to school.

Five.

Writing a poem about babies, houses, forests, fruit, Kate Bush, and the woman with the smallest yard I’ve ever seen, tending to her grass, smiling at her neighbors, and talking to the dogs in the next lawn over. When she saw me, she gave me a thumbs up and mouthed, “We won!” That’s how I found out. That’s where I was standing when I felt a small, and mighty wave of relief. That’s when I let myself imagine.

We’re not done. There is still so much work to do, and there will always be, and that has always been true. Today, I’m considering our future, not just mine. As Taylor Crumpton writes in the Washington Post: Will you consider me too?

I’ve had enough, and my life has only just begun. Every four years, the Democratic Party looks to me and countless Black women to save it. Our White women counterparts aren’t held to the same standard, especially not the 53 percent of them who voted for Trump in 2016. White women are granted forgiveness for their “infidelity,” and wooed all over again each election, while Black women are expected to remain loyal and faithful.