i want to go far

inheritance

A gentle heads up: the letter below is part of my Going Deeper Letters, where I share letters to Myles about my upbringing and what it means to me to be raising a Black son. As such, much today’s post is behind a paywall. Every dollar I collect from these writings goes toward his college fund. If you would like to support me in saving for his future, please consider upgrading your subscription.

If you can’t commit to a monthly subscription, but still want to support Myles’ college plan, here is my Buy Me a Coffee page.

The poem below was inspired by a conversation between Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin, particularly around the 35-minute mark. Hearing Baldwin speak about his father allowed me to see my own in a different light.

i want to go far 
like my daddy did 
away from here 
to a place where no one knows my name 
to put this bag down that i’ve been carrying