Origin stories: Before I took the torch and became the Griot of my people… I swore that I wasn’t tracing shit… I didn’t have time for it and besides, this was a job for someone else. On this day my Uncle and his big sister, my Bigmama, spoke truth to me about a role that I would play for our family… this was one of the many ways that they trained me before they left this place.
I remember brushing it off as old folks talking when they said: “… you gonna be telling the stories of our folk… gaddamnit, that’s the story you need to be telling.”
I was sitting in between them when they leaned over to caution me:
“… Everybody ain’t gon’ understand this work. You gon’ be surprised that it might be your own sometimes, they’ll look you dead in the face and tell you… that you ain’t shit and they’ll mean it. But… you gon’ have to figure out what you gon’ do… is you gon cry about that shit? Or… are you gon’ make a gaddamn liar out of them? You gon’ see some shit Shun, you got them hands on you ... get these stories while they here to be got!” and with that… they both looked at each other and started laughing, as if they were in on a joke that I wasn’t privy to.
I get the punchline… they told no lies. Everytime something comes to pass from what they told me… I just shake my head and chuckle. And this is why I tell the stories of the Glorious Ones.
Copyright © 2022 ShunPwrites. All Rights Reserved.
Shun P. Writes... dot com 