the imagery never changes
if we are fighters as we are to be, we have to have the will to stand ourselves up after a fall, and go on with the journey that lies ahead of us
deny not the myriad of emotions that flows through us
they are sensations after all
and when the fears are looked upon right in the face
and we have not the need to run away
we grow strong again
determined
to walk
on
forth
.
'The male is the only one got that tail full of jewelry. Son of a bitch. Look at that.'
The peacock opened its tail wide.
'Let's scare it. Come on, Milk,' and Guitar started to run toward the fence.
'What for?' asked Milkman, running behind him. . . .
'How come it can't fly no better than a chicken?' Milkman asked.
'Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity.
Can't nobody fly with all that shit.
Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.'"
From Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, New York: Plume, 1987, p. 178-79.