“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
I want to cook callaloo and crab every Sunday just like women in Trinidad did when it was all they had, and not a local delicacy.
I want to wake up to the warm, wet sensation of my husband kissing the tip of my nose and feel the tenderness of total acceptance.
I want to braid my daughter's hair every morning until she waves me away and takes over the job. And then I want to stand and watch as she does it better than I could.
I want to wipe my son's tears until the day he can reach down and wipe mine.
I want to look at every wrinkle and grey hair, knowing that it is a prize for withstanding the passage of time.
I want to hold my head up through all of life's mysteries and not only endure but grow.
I want to listen to my grandchildren's laughter as I tell them how Anansi outsmarted everyone AGAIN…and be sure that the stories which survived the Middle Passage will continue for yet another generation.
And when the time comes to let go, I want to spring forward into the light and touch the face of God.
— Ebony Cambridge