Red Lioness

“black women breathe flowers, too.
just because
we are taught to grow them in the lining of our quiet (our grandmothers secret)
does nor mean
we do not swelter with wild tenderness.
we soft swim.
we petal.
we scent limbs.
love.
we just have been too long a garden for sharp and deadly teeth.
so we
have
grown
ourselfves
into
greenhouses.”
― Nayyirah Waheed, Salt

“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”
― Mason Cooley

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
― Ernest Hemingway

“When your rage is choking you, it is best to say nothing.”
― Octavia E. Butler, Fledgling