laureli ivanoff

Today we know why our marrow has always hurt.
Today we know why we were born with pain in our bones.

Today we know why.

We have been hated. We have been beaten. We have been tortured. We have been killed. We have been shamed. Humiliated. Told WE are evil. Told so much we hate ourselves.

And our bodies remember.

Today our minds know what our bodies have always known.
What our bodies have carried.
What our bodies have not forgotten.

And we cry. We grieve.
For their pain. Excruciating.
Traumas handed down.
In our brown skin. We ache.

Just days before today I had a dream.
God said it takes four generations
for a man to become strong again.
This was their mission.
Their life’s work.
Steal connection. Language.
Love. Life. Family.
Their life’s work.
In Jesus’ name.

Today we mourn. And understand our pain.