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Sunday, November 20, 2005 

Tabi

When I woke up
I was far beyond the light of yesterday
My hands reached for a pair of glasses
Carelessly left on their side
On the floor next to my pillow -
And I don't wear glasses.

What I did find,
peeking out from underneath my bed
I picked up;
Searched my desk for a silver marker and,
In the straightest, cleanest script
My elongated fingers can possibly produce
I wrote down 'Howard'
My grandfather's name
And next to it, both of my grandmothers -
Ruby and Amanda -
And my step-grandfather Adams as well
Because I realized,
In the shine of today's transcendant dawn
Since I couldn't show them all
How many steps their boy has taken
They can take them with me,
If only in shared blood, spirit,
And a list of names written
On a black boy's right shoe.