On The Fear Of Commitment (A Poem For Black History Month)

2026 marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, celebrating a century of remembrance, resistance, and becoming since Dr. Carter G. Woodson first established Negro History Week in 1926. This meditative poem is an offering, especially for those living in Black bodies. A moment to pause, to feel the lineage that breathes through you, and to honor the wisdom, survival, and beauty that made your life possible. May this be a space to return to yourself—to recommit to your healing, your growth, your purpose, and your ongoing evolution.

Happy Black History Month.

Transcript

On the Fear of Commitment, A poem for Black History Month. Fragmented pieces of you delicately come together, A mosaic in the making, Still awakening, Stretching through lifetimes and generations like prayers whispered into futures unseen, Your ancestors committed to you. Cracked hands bleed and bled over back-breaking labor, Broken seams and shattered dreams, Who? Who said working twice as hard, Being twice as good, Would lead to freedom out the hood? Our ancestors ain't, Though, Safe enough to rest. Your birth broke a woman's body to be here. Your being here broke the body of a nation, As if existing and breathing as black in its own kind of miracle, As if you ain't worthy of witnessing the miracle of you, We be witnessing the miracle of you. Naked trees without leaves are still worthy. Winter strips away brightly-colored distractions as the intimacy of stillness produces growth. Naked trees without leaves bloom again, You will bloom again, I will bloom again, We will bloom again. Seeds remain dormant until the best conditions of blossom become available, They say. They say seeds remain dormant until the best conditions of blossom become available. They say dormancy is essential for survival. Fragmented pieces of you delicately come together, A mosaic in the making, Still awakening, Stretching through lifetimes and generations, Like prayers whispered into futures unseen, Your ancestors committed to you. Now the question remains, Will you say I do to you?