“A Matter of Time” Has Run Out: On Loving Women in Relationships by Gracie Berry

The moment her smile gives you goosepimples and how her eyes trail yours sending warmth-surging to tight, moist places. You meet up at your favorite restaurant and she tells you all about her emotions. How you are so brave, and much more compatible than her partner, and she can see clearly now. She tells you that’s she’s unhappy and leaving is only a matter of time. Time. She convinces you with those eyes and that smile that she is finally regaining control and that you are to blame. She lays it on thick saying that she needs you now more than ever. The walls cave in on you and that shot of Jameson burns all the way down because you’ve heard it before-it always ends badly-it always ends the same way. To stay or to leave those are your only choices. In the foyer of your favorite restaurant-you kiss her forehead as dapper as your suit. You bid her peace and many courageous days cause for you, “a matter of time” has run out.

-Gracie Berry

#workingonsomenewstuff

Requiem to Black Jester Spirits

Vintage clowning’: A requiem to all of the beautiful black jester spirits that never survived from making jokes. Those suffocated by buffoonery. Those that left this earth having never been intimate with their own amusing sounds. Those that couldn’t keep humor tucked beneath their sleeves to console a bad day. To those imprisoned by racist jokes from folks that clowned themselves at your expense-there is no honor in that. I honor your past this day of the dead. I honor your laughs and those laughs and love you willingly gave to us. The pride in my eyes won’t let me worry. I remember you tonight. ❤ me #holloween2014

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For Some Life Is Too Long

Thinking about the courageous folks in my life that ended their own lives. So much love between us, having shared the planet together! I remember seeing the light slowly leave from behind your eyes. To watch you suffer that loss made me so sad. And while some say that life is too short-for you life was too long. I hold you and honor you here, behind my left breast.~Gracie

Gentrified Dive Spots Make for Really Racist Encounters for Black Creatives Like Me

Had dinner at Stubby’s Bar and Grill. Saw a Facebook friend, the only normal part of the evening. Delicious fries and burger after 18-years, (insert meme) lol! Guy sits next to me, tells me his painful life story-shorts stained from blood after coming from his day job of slaughtering deer and curing meat for cash. Filling my ear with things like me being so exotic and that there was no way I could be from the area the way I dressed. He purchased drinks that I let sit the entire night. He shared a story about an encounter he had with a homeless white guy in New Orleans that accused him of being cheap and not taking care of his own. The homeless guy went on to compare him to the black people that took better care of him than people like him. The white homeless person apparently used the N-word to describe those ‘caring’ black people, that took care of him. The deer guy eluded to using the N-word by saying, “Well I’m going to say what he said, but I don’t want you to get mad. I couldn’t believe that guy calling me-you know he said, the forbidden word whites called blacks back then? The bad N-word”. I don’t want to say it,  but.” I stopped him before nigger came dripping from his mouth, and told hime that I didn’t want to hear the N-word come from his mouth and in fact I had no interest in hearing any utterance of it at all. He diverted to some other non-race related conversation. And yelled, “I love you!” to me when I left the bar that night.

The bar tender over hears me say, “I prefer women”, after the deer guys tries flirting with me, and says a ridiculous comment about how ‘he’ is a lesbian too (barf). Then another “good ole boy” wearing a “Race Against Racism” T-shirt says, “You know how all you black people look alike (laughing his ass off)?” I said sir, “No sir, I don’t know how we all look alike. We are a culture, not a cult-and I don’t find anything you said funny.” The man next to us laughed and pointed fun at him for saying such a thing, called him a racist dumb ass. Good ole boy exclaimed, “I meant it to be funny-a joke you know!?” I said, No, I don’t understand how you meant it to be a joke. And the only joke seems to be on you sir. You should never wear that T-shirt again, ever-in public, or say those words to any person of color you meet, ever.” His face seemed to resemble that which encounters a pile of shit in close proximity. Strange and eventful night-all for craving a burger. Lawd of mercy!

-Gracie

Pic #1 Burger was so good. #2 The well lit football helmet? #3 The moment deer meat dude walked up on me, stumblin’. #4 Me cool and collected-wishin’ a mufuka would lol! ‪#‎Liberatingmyexperienceatallwhiteplaces‬

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#RestinpowerMaryUniqueSpears

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These type of men have to be void of all emotion. Monsters, incapable of understanding the paranoia and fear us women face the moment we decide to say no. Saying, no, can literally cost us our lives. And that being polite is such a fucking rip off! Sir, did you not hear her say no? I guess stalking her made it easier, huh? Cause to have acknowledged the fact that Mary was in love with someone else and refused all parts of you would’ve forced you inward, head first, to nurse wounds-injured your whole life, so you murdered her instead. I’m sick with you. Despicable and deliberate and persistent you. #coward #stopviolenceagainstwomen #monstermen

Bless,
Gracie

Ride the Fear

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It’s great that parents teach their children to be fearful and cautious of specific dangers, such as fire or crossing the road. In these instances, anxiety can be useful, because it helps protect them from harm. However, children can learn to be fearful of situations or objects that adults find threatening. This video is a great example of understanding and overcoming fear because we need to trust our babies more. I witness parents strongly motivating their children to avoid certain things when in fact its their own fears being projected. For example, fear of heights, water etc. The parent remains in close proximity here, yet allows the child to experience falling, problem solving, and self-reliance in a supportive environment. I admire this so very much! ‪#‎ridethefear‬ #nofear #sogirlrillavintage

Heart,
Gracie

Click link to watch full video of baby skateboarding-https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152556930584025&fref=nf

No Excuses Made for Them

There were no excuses made for these men. Not one excuse was made to aid their salvation, mental health, finances, family life, love life, social or economic status, no negotiations, no warning signs, warning shots, no innocent until proven guilty. The intent was not to lend any excuses because lending excuses would at least acknowledge that one exists. No! The intent was sinister. In fact total annihilation. Rest in power to those!

Love,
-Gracie Berry

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I Can’t Complain. Uh-Yes You Can.

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When people say, they can’t complain, bothers me. To me the phrase implies a since of martyrdom. As if waking up to a world that directly traumatizes, devalues, mentally and emotionally diseases, fragments us should be satisfactory just because we survived another moment? I mean this most auspiciously, your silence will end your days as swiftly as they’ve started. I say, COMPLAIN! Don’t let a soul cover your mouth. COMPLAIN! To expand your value because your pain has a right to be here! COMPLAIN! For all of the voiceless. COMPLAIN! To build awareness. COMPLAIN! Because you can. Honestly, the most change ever eradicated in the world has been a result of those who complained. Imagine if Malcolm, Gandhi, or Kwame Ture didn’t complain-we would be even more whitewashed and afraid. Their complaints made us whole and aware of our wholeness. -Gracie Berry