Editor’s Take
BY NJEMILE Z. ALI
A Mother’s Day Gift from My Daughter
Nine years ago, my amazing daughter, Tannur Shewrightz Ali, gifted me the loveliest poem. A few days ago, I remembered it as a gift to share with our readers this Mother’s Day weekend. The poem is a beautiful appreciation of the bond between us, and the bond that Black communities around the world value so much and hold so dear. Thank you, Tannur.
I must also shout out to the mothers and daughters and sons whose experience of motherhood was and is not so idyllic. Mothering and motherhood are not always the walk through the park that we would like. Mothers work to be all that we hold dear, yet often feel that we do not measure up. In truth, sometimes we don’t measure up. I most definitely feel that Tannur’s poem is aspirational for me. Some day I hope to wake up and be that Queen for real.
Many mothers are still babies hoping to be fed, burped, changed and embraced. The results of this lack of nurturing can look a lot of different ways. Even in the presence of warmth and nurturing, vestiges of a lack of self-knowing and self-esteem enter in unexpected ways. Let’s embrace our sister mothers, think well of them and envision our village whole, intact, and deeply caring for one another. A gift we can share.
Plus, In this Issue …
Fiction writer Richard Eddie and New Book Releases columnist Shaundale Rénā take two vastly different looks at the end of life, what it means to the living and how we handle it all. Shaundale brings us a gritty, no-holds-barred new release that (pardon the extra pun) pulls no punches on how the author felt about his deceased aunt. Likewise, Shaundale is upfront with how she feels about the writer’s frank expression. It’s a rumble in the jungle situation.
On the gentler end of the spectrum, Richard Eddie brings us two mystical explorations of life and death that will have you reconsidering your understanding of both. Richard’s pen is both a vehicle and a paintbrush, instantly transporting us to other-worldly zones, while he paints beautiful land and seascapes. His writing invites the reader to breathe deeply, move slowly and consider differently. Life, death and our roles in each realm are examined in “The Welcoming Cemetery” and “A Portrait on the Beach.”
Our writers continue KIZA’s springtime look at the social roles that we play, individually and collectively. What sort of molecular bonds do we create to form societies? What are the elements? The compounds? The structures that reflect Earth’s soil, mountains, trees and rivers? What roles do we play in our social Universes? How do we treat our fellow creations? How are we treated?
Every week during this month of May 2025, our writers travel through the forces that shape social worlds and set the stage for the interactions that define individuals and communities. They carry precious cargo in their vehicles: childhood, love and relations lost and found—the true treasures of life.