Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Day 19 - Enuf is Not Enough

Someone from outside
the four-block radius I called home
knew this word.
and had used it,
not just at any place in the book
but in the title.
and not just in any book,
but a brilliant work of theatre,
which fascinates one
beyond imagination.
But as a teenager,
I remember,
it was the title,
that affected me
the most.

You see, just by bringing a word
from my four-block radius home
to the title of a book,
what Ntozake Shange does is,
she takes away the need for
any politcal correctness,
or tainting of my truth,
or hiding what needs to be said.
This one word from her,
prepares the reader
for the substance
of the prose.

For Colored Girls
Who Have Considered Suicide/
When The Rainbow Is Enuf.

Enuf. In print.
Enuf, not enough.
You see, enuf and enough
are very different words.
They have the same meaning,
can be used in the same context,
but each has very different significance
to those who employ them.

Enuf sits comfortably
in the subtitle of this book
allowing the work
to call out to those
for and about whom
it is written.

Now you see why
Seeing the word enuf in print,
on the cover of a book,
meant the world to me?

- Based on the preface of For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood.

Image Source: Books.google.co.in 

 #Day19 #The100DayProject #100DaysOfProseToPoetry#Race For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf

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