Ma(i)ze
written by: R.C. Taylor
My kin and I are cornrowed together,
maps braided into aching scalps
like sweet freedom passed from
shaky, determined hands urging
each other forward.
My kin and I are cornrowed together,
Mothers to Sons to Sisters to Cousins to Limitless,
time telephone cup pressed ear to ear,
hearts pendulums in the valley between us,
web stretching across the Milky Way,
words hanging on Big Dipper.
My kin and I are cornrowed together,
The deepest prayer ever uttered,
Blackbird song shivering down
trees and down under, legacy
all achatter, mycelium dreams,
Even Mother Earth knows our bond
R.C. Taylor is an award-winning storyteller who writes to invoke, process, honor, resurrect, and sometimes grieve, but, above all, to be free. She has won Runner-up in several Vocal Media poetry challenges in 2022, 2023, and 2024 and her work has received Vocal Media's Top Story distinction fourteen times.
