NADIRA NORJAHAN

Khari

I am Khari.  I’m a young woman who is about my business. I hate my job because I’m just the pretty front desk token black girl. It’s all I got though and I need it to take care of my son. Everything I do is for my little boy Darren before anything else. But his father Fred is my tall, dark, handsome and no-damn-good weakness. He spends all of his time in those streets and part of his time between my sheets, and that is where he lights my whole fire.

My mamma Eartha is my heart but she is weaker than her true strength. She wears sadness like a cloak and I’m not sure how to reach her, so I just love her. She thinks I don’t see her tears and the bags in her eyes that hold her grief. She smokes and drinks too much but I can’t say nothin’ to her. I do know that she loves her grandson and she is his joy. So, I get them together as much as possible so that she can feel the sun.

My sister Afaye is my rock and best friend forever. I just want her to be happy but she hasn’t been the same since Kamau left. I see her pour all of the love she has, or rather she had for him into lyrics or into some worthless fool that doesn’t deserve her. I sure miss Kamau. That was my bro for real. There is nobody else on this earth so right for my baby sister.

This is my family. We are all a mess but we love each other…in our own way.

 

Afaye

I am Afaye. I pride myself on being a strong black Sista, even though my mamma hates me for being so literally black. I spent most of my life in the shadow of my sister Khari but she is my light and my best friend. I think my mamma resents our relationship because Khari never puts me down for being dark-skinned with nappy hair and thick African features like she does. While mamma spent most of my life wearing me out about how black I was, my sister always told me to keep my head up and made me feel beautiful. I love my mamma so much but I don’t know why she acts like I’m so ugly when I look so much like her. I am proud of who I am. I just wish she was.

My love life is so empty without Kamau but I don’t tell anybody. I really thought that he was the one but he up and left me, talking bout he needed to “find himself”. I don’t understand men. Probably because before then he was the only one I had ever dated or been with. Now I’m out here dating dud after dud but I’m cool though. I guess if me and Kamau were meant to be, he never would have left me. I just can’t seem to find anyone like him though, I mean, someone who I can trust like him and wrap my lyrics up with. He was my poetry. Now it’s only me and Im’a make it, somehow.

 

Kamau

My name is Kamau. My mother said that my name means Silent Warrior. I guess I kind of feel that way. But there is nothing on this earth more beautiful than my Afaye to bring me to my knees. I mean, man! That woman is all the world to me. But I just felt like I needed to come out here and find…find what? I really don’t know. Things are so different in Europe. They love my accent. Go figure. They love hearing my poetry. They keep telling me how real and raw my words are. But my lyrics just don’t seem proper without my Dove. The sun is up. The sky is clear and blue. But I feel like my poetry is empty without…without…her.

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Aunt Jae

I am Jae. What a life this has been! I done been everywhere it seem on dis here planet! I don’t understand none of them folks who don’t go no place. Not even outside of their own neighborhoods! Yeah, I may be a country gal. I mean in all my travels I found the best places, the best music and good lawd! I found the best food in the south! Oh, but I feel something calling me back up north. I sure don’t like no cold up there but my sister Eartha been on my mind so much here lately. I feel so bad for leaving her behind but I had to get out of there and find my own way. But I feel my sister calling for me, in my heart. I ain’t seen her girls since they was small. Oh, them beautiful girls she got! Wouldn’t mind getting me one of them good South Philly hoagies either.  I guess it’s time to travel again. Oh! Im’a pull out that black mink so I can look good!

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Fred

I’m Fred. I mean, yeah. It may be a square ass name but that’s what my moms named me so it’s what I got. Plus, my name pulls weight on these stankin’ Philly streets. These dudes think they somebody in Philly with their Eagles this and that and those nasty cheesesteaks. That stuff is disgusting! But they love it. I mean, I like my steaks thick, bloody and with some mashed potatoes and gravy! Like my moms made at home in New York. Anyway, I tolerate it so that I can take these dumb nigga’s money. They didn’t even see me slide up into the game. I run the drug game on these streets because these nigga’s just so stupid. I get all the dough, all the pussy, everything I want. I take care of my main chick and my hoes. I make sure I take care of my kids. I mean, no. They might not see me all the time but Daddy got business. If I don’t make this money, they don’t eat. They just gotta understand that their Daddy is King and it takes work to rule this kingdom. Call me King Solomon! I run it all! So, square name don’t mean nothin’. I am the boss! That’s it!

 

Shiqua

They call me Shiqua but I don’t even know who I am anymore. If it wasn’t for my baby girl, Brene’ you could just call me dead. I mean, my family don’t want me, my baby daddy treats me like trash even though I know he loves me deep down inside. Im’a try to make myself better so that he will want me more. I know he got other hoes but I got his baby so he gotta love me more. He gives me money sometimes and lets me get high when I want. Yeah, he loves me. He just be mad a lot. I still just be feelin like my life is a black hole and I can’t get out. So, I just hold on to my little girl. She all I got that I can call all mines in this world.

 

 

Pastor Christina

My mother told me when I was young that my calling was to preach. I doubted for many years, or more like resisted that premonition for so long. I mean, living the life I have lived, I didn’t think that it would come true. I prayed little and sinned much. But here I am. I just don’t believe that you should beat people over the head with God. I mean, a relationship with God should be almost romantic. People cloud the relationship with God with all this religion. That’s why I don’t preach at one church. I love being more of a guest speaker at various churches. It causes me to reach more people and I escape a lot of the politics. Working as a chaplain part-time at the hospital doesn’t pay much but you wouldn’t believe the lives that one can touch in a hospital. It’s odd. The church should be a hospital too, you know, where the sick go to get well. But, you know. Politics and all. And sometimes people don’t really understand sickness unless it’s physical. So, if that’s how I have to reach them, so be it. I just want to heal God’s people. I feel like this special family needs to learn how to touch the God within themselves. I pray that I am such a vessel to lead them.

 

Eartha

Eartha. What the hell kinda name is that? I don’t know what my mamma was thinkin but she wasn’t thinkin of me. She musta saw this little black baby she had and thought she looked like dirt. Well, I guess I am dirt. Ain’t got a whole lot from this life to show for nothin but my Khari. My Afaye too. She black too like me so she ain’t gonna have as much as my Khari. My Khari is red bone and pretty like her daddy was. Oh, he was fine! Don’t know how I got that one. But when I got him, he left me. With a little light-damn-near-white baby. But why he gonna stay with me, huh? Who gonna play in the dirt, huh? This life will beat you down to the ground. But when Khari bring my baby boy Darren to see me…oh, that little boy is my whole world! He nearly black as me but he so handsome. He got that pretty hair like his mamma so it makes him nice lookin. Not like that ugly ass daddy of his. So, long as I can sip this wine and smoke my cigarettes and see my Khari and my little Darren, Imma be ok for how long I live. Oh, Afaye too. She think she something but she gonna learn that if you light, you alright. If you black, get back! You just dirt for the world to piss on and that’s all.