Mother Nature & Mami Wata

Immortal Dark, by Tigest Girma, is a thrilling science fiction novel by a Black author, and I was beyond excited to read it. Honestly, I think this was the first time I had ever read a science fiction novel by a Black writer. It was refreshing to imagine characters, buildings, and a culture where Black people were not the minority—they existed in a society of their own. And the story centers on vampires. Black vampires.

In the middle of journaling and working on another post, my journal slipped from my hands and fell open to the very first page.

My poems often tell a story of self-actualization and awakening.

At 4am, alone in my living room, I danced—not to be seen, not to be understood, but because my body needed joy, and I trusted it. Somewhere between the movement, the meditation, and the music, it became clear: I don’t crave validation anymore. I crave alignment. I crave flow.

9/28/2025 11:46 am

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the premiere of Love, Loyalty, & Death at the Neon Theater in downtown Dayton—an incredible film by our city’s own Jason DBKS Hampton.

Water has been calling to me lately. This happens often—a quiet, persistent yearning to relax my mind, body, and soul. Over time, I’ve come to appreciate water not just as a physical element, but as a form of meditation and escape. For the past few weeks, I’ve told myself I needed to soak in a bubble bath. Yet each day, I faced the same dilemma: I felt like I had no time. My mind constantly is under war, with the quiet struggles that many of us face but rarely articulate- especially the tension between productivity and self-care, and the yearning for peace in the midst of constant motion.