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Live; Shine.

By Jennifer Falú

‎‎

 

the miracle
of living
is living
when you’d
rather not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        look at you                      nigga
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 shining
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          look at god


 

 

Listen as Jennifer Falú reads an extended version of the poem "Live; Shine." After the text featured above, this version includes the following words:  "look at you/ shining/ nigga/ look at god/look at god/ shining/ look at god/shining/nigga."

Added: Friday, February 12, 2021  /  Used with permission.
Jennifer Falú
Roger Britton for BRenaissancePhotography

A graduate of Pratt’s MFA Writing and Activism program, Jennifer Falú works full time as a social servant in a men’s shelter, as well as a travelling teaching artist. An International Slam Champion, she made her film debut in the movie Mania Days alongside Katie Holmes, as well as the Rza-directed film Love Beats Rhymes alongside Jill Scott and Common, where she is credited as a writer. Falú is also featured in an Emmy Award-winning documentary following the 2016 Brooklyn Slam Team as they compete against 90 other teams. A Cave Canem Fellow, as of 2016, she is published in several anthologies and is using her writing as activism work for several organizations. Falú’s other passion projects include Niggas Die Everyday, an art gallery she co-built and exhibit she co-curated that reconciles the legacy of racial injustice in the United States with the angst and aggression of the hip-hop generation. Aside from being a sermon editorial consultant for some of today’s most promising preachers and rocking stages and colleges with her poetry collectives, Jennifer Falú is the proud mother of two children, a loyal Brooklynite, and believes in fashion. Seriously!

Other poems by this author