<\/p>\n
“I have been a woman for a long time, beware my smile”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Audre Lorde<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n you said a woman must look deep into her soul, uncover it\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n you with lived in eyes, sharing hands\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I never met you, but I imagine you leaping over fences without fear\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I keep your picture above my desk, turn to it when I am weak\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n your eyes alone tell me not to give up\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I imagine the joy you carved out of your life\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n as juice is squeezed from coconut\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I imagine you in long flowing trousers\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n easily finding shells along the ocean you loved, St. Croix<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Audre, I see your face, feel its warmth\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n am inspired by your gift\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n of sand\u00a0 stories\u00a0 stars\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I remember your honesty and I am no longer afraid to name myself\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n poet \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 warrior\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Audre Dorothy Johnson-Laird “I have been a woman for a long time, beware my smile”\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Audre Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6645,"featured_media":0,"parent":1261,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3757"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4343,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3757\/revisions\/4343"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1188\/2023\/11\/Headshot_johnson-scaled-e1699922943290-150x150.jpg\")
Dorothy Johnson-Laird<\/strong> is a poet and social worker who lives in New York City. She received an M.F.A in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Dorothy also has a passion for African music. She has published music journalism with <\/span>www.afropop.org<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>www.worldmusiccentral.org<\/span><\/a>. Recent poems appeared in Aji, Cantos, Pomona Valley Review, <\/em>and Pedestal Magazine<\/em>, among others. Her\u00a0poems\u00a0were also published in the anthology, “Alchemy and Miracles: Nature Woven Into Words.” More of Dorothy’s\u00a0poetry\u00a0can be found at:\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100083698660157<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"