white robe and walk to Lovers Leap to meet Jesus. She climb up there with a bunch of other fool whites so they can fly to heaven. Who knows what happen to the rest of them but she come home alone.
Me and Jim together a lot that fall. Us niggers aint gots to work so hard with Mas grieving. Emma lead the songs and we gets in the harvest. We works and smokes. After the harvest Tailor go to town to see his wife. Nobody tell us nothing.
I knows some the other gals vex cause Jim with me. But aint nothing they can put on me now. Aint no power can pull us apart.
They know that. Thats why one of them take my knife. I pretends not to notice. Acts like that knife aint nothing to me. But when I goes in my pocket I cant feels my mamas hand and my heart hurt.
Cant heals nobody now my knife gone. Folks come to me for help but I cant helps them. Even if the leaves all they need I cant helps them. My power been stole from me. I feels heavy and loss.
Winter come and we burns the fields and turns the soil. I feels a power stirring inside me. I pounds the dry bloodroot to powder. Every night I makes myself a cup of that powder with dandelion tea. When that aint work I tries the spiceberry oil. All winter I sick with cramping. Cant keeps nothing down. Can feels my bones.
The herbs aint working so I tries talking to the baby. Babies like seedlings. If they know what they gonna be put to they aint gonna grow. Not if they gonna be burn or maim. Not if they gonna be chew in somebodys mouth or stuff in somebodys pipe. They wither and die fore they serve that use. If you talk to a baby fore it come and tell it what use it gonna be put to you aint need no root or bark or nothing. Just talk. Children hear you good fore they come into the light. You whisper what the road be like and they aint gonna make the journey. Now if you talk to the baby and tell it the truth and it still want to come aint nothing you can do to stop it. Thats a spirit child.
I dont says nothing to Jim till he feel the round of my belly. By that time spring here. You got me a boy in there he say. Boy with big eyes and big teeth. Big old head gonna hurt when it come out. He say he seen it. He dream it.
That summer I carries the baby right up under my heart. Every time I bends down it bump up against my ribs. Sweat running off my face and I all the time thirsty. Tailor leave me be.
Harvest time come and we works to bring in the crop. I bout to drop. I walking ahead looking for spots on the leaves and thems with curl at the tip. I gots a curve knife to split the stalk. Emma coming behind me with the stick picking up the ones I puts down. Jim loading the sticks in the wagon and driving them to the curing barn. I aint gots time to look for him. They bring us food in the field and we keeps on working. I gets so dizzy I falls out. Emma pull me back up.
You need to eat something she say.
She call one of the children to bring me some corn and water. She watching me close.
Coming your time she say.
I still gots a little while I says. Baby aint drop down.
Whats wrong with you getting big for harvest time. You the one claim you aint having no babies.
I tries to tell her this one coming cause Jim seen it.
You aint nothing but two fools one bigger than the other Emma say. He aint seen a damn thing. You talking like them Africans. If he can see so much how come he cant see his way to freedom. He aint gonna bring you nothing but sorrow. Thats what I sees.
Soon as the barn full they build the fires. Children tending them day and night. So hot up in there one of them boys pass out and they bring him to me. I so tired I can barely stands. The heat of them long days too much for me and I can feels the baby bout to come. I puts my hands on that boy and I feels him getting cold. Jim say aint nothing I can do. Boy aint got no water in him. He dry like a tobacco leaf.
Tailor tell me to make the boy better so he can get back to work. We brings him water but we cant gets it down him. He die
Me and Jim together a lot that fall. Us niggers aint gots to work so hard with Mas grieving. Emma lead the songs and we gets in the harvest. We works and smokes. After the harvest Tailor go to town to see his wife. Nobody tell us nothing.
I knows some the other gals vex cause Jim with me. But aint nothing they can put on me now. Aint no power can pull us apart.
They know that. Thats why one of them take my knife. I pretends not to notice. Acts like that knife aint nothing to me. But when I goes in my pocket I cant feels my mamas hand and my heart hurt.
Cant heals nobody now my knife gone. Folks come to me for help but I cant helps them. Even if the leaves all they need I cant helps them. My power been stole from me. I feels heavy and loss.
Winter come and we burns the fields and turns the soil. I feels a power stirring inside me. I pounds the dry bloodroot to powder. Every night I makes myself a cup of that powder with dandelion tea. When that aint work I tries the spiceberry oil. All winter I sick with cramping. Cant keeps nothing down. Can feels my bones.
The herbs aint working so I tries talking to the baby. Babies like seedlings. If they know what they gonna be put to they aint gonna grow. Not if they gonna be burn or maim. Not if they gonna be chew in somebodys mouth or stuff in somebodys pipe. They wither and die fore they serve that use. If you talk to a baby fore it come and tell it what use it gonna be put to you aint need no root or bark or nothing. Just talk. Children hear you good fore they come into the light. You whisper what the road be like and they aint gonna make the journey. Now if you talk to the baby and tell it the truth and it still want to come aint nothing you can do to stop it. Thats a spirit child.
I dont says nothing to Jim till he feel the round of my belly. By that time spring here. You got me a boy in there he say. Boy with big eyes and big teeth. Big old head gonna hurt when it come out. He say he seen it. He dream it.
That summer I carries the baby right up under my heart. Every time I bends down it bump up against my ribs. Sweat running off my face and I all the time thirsty. Tailor leave me be.
Harvest time come and we works to bring in the crop. I bout to drop. I walking ahead looking for spots on the leaves and thems with curl at the tip. I gots a curve knife to split the stalk. Emma coming behind me with the stick picking up the ones I puts down. Jim loading the sticks in the wagon and driving them to the curing barn. I aint gots time to look for him. They bring us food in the field and we keeps on working. I gets so dizzy I falls out. Emma pull me back up.
You need to eat something she say.
She call one of the children to bring me some corn and water. She watching me close.
Coming your time she say.
I still gots a little while I says. Baby aint drop down.
Whats wrong with you getting big for harvest time. You the one claim you aint having no babies.
I tries to tell her this one coming cause Jim seen it.
You aint nothing but two fools one bigger than the other Emma say. He aint seen a damn thing. You talking like them Africans. If he can see so much how come he cant see his way to freedom. He aint gonna bring you nothing but sorrow. Thats what I sees.
Soon as the barn full they build the fires. Children tending them day and night. So hot up in there one of them boys pass out and they bring him to me. I so tired I can barely stands. The heat of them long days too much for me and I can feels the baby bout to come. I puts my hands on that boy and I feels him getting cold. Jim say aint nothing I can do. Boy aint got no water in him. He dry like a tobacco leaf.
Tailor tell me to make the boy better so he can get back to work. We brings him water but we cant gets it down him. He die
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