Nikki Giovanni I Wrote a Good Omelet

I wrote a good omelet . . . and ate a hot poem . . . after loving you

Buttoned my car . . . and drove my coat home . . . in the rain . . . after loving you

I goed on red . . . and stopped on green . . . floating somewhere in between . . . being here and being there . . . after loving you

I rolled my bed . . . turned down my hair . . . slightly confused but . . . I don't care . . . Laid out my teeth . . . and gargled my gown . . . then I stood . . . and laid me down . . . to sleep . . .

To the givers of this beautiful reward, my thanks, from the heart. My family, my agents, my editors, know that my being here is their doing as well as my own, and that the beautiful reward is theirs as much as mine. And I rejoice in accepting it for, and sharing it with, all the writers who’ve been excluded from literature for so long — my fellow authors of fantasy and science fiction, writers of the imagination, who for fifty years have watched the beautiful rewards go to the so-called realists.

Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We’ll need writers who can remember freedom — poets, visionaries — realists of a larger reality.

Right now, we need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximise corporate profit and advertising revenue is not the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship.

Yet I see sales departments given control over editorial. I see my own publishers, in a silly panic of ignorance and greed, charging public libraries for an e-book 6 or 7 times more than they charge customers. We just saw a profiteer try to punish a publisher for disobedience, and writers threatened by corporate fatwa. And I see a lot of us, the producers, who write the books and make the books, accepting this — letting commodity profiteers sell us like deodorant, and tell us what to publish, what to write.

Books aren’t just commodities; the profit motive is often in conflict with the aims of art. We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable — but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art. Very often in our art, the art of words.

I’ve had a long career as a writer, and a good one, in good company. Here at the end of it, I don’t want to watch American literature get sold down the river. We who live by writing and publishing want and should demand our fair share of the proceeds; but the name of our beautiful reward isn’t profit. Its name is freedom.

Hello everyone, I hope you take a minute to read our story.

I’m Hazem Shawish, trying to save my family from the war

We’re a family of 8 members, me, my mother, and I have 4 brothers and two sisters. And their kids

Islam (30) years old

Samer (29)

Hashem (31)

Mohammad (35)

Nisreen (37) ( @nisreensuhail )

Noor (36).

Kids:

Amal (12)

Kenzy (17) ( @kenzish )

Zoheer (19)

In the shadow of conflict, our family has faced unimaginable hardships. The passing of my father, a victim to the cruel grasp of hunger and inadequate healthcare, left a void in our lives, underscoring the fragility of our existence here. My brother, Samer, battles bipolar disorder, a condition exacerbated by the ongoing war and the severe shortage of essential medications. Without access to the necessary treatment, his life is at risk, and we live in constant fear for his well-being amidst the chaos that surrounds us. These personal tragedies have deepened the urgency of our situation.

My brother Samer

Every day is a struggle for survival, and each night is filled with prayers for a brighter tomorrow. Yet, amidst the darkness, we hold onto hope, seeking solace in the belief that one day, the clouds of war will dissipate, and we will find the peace and stability we so desperately crave. Until then, we endure, clinging to the threads of our resilience, and nurturing dreams of a safer, healthier future for us all.

Our home, once a sanctuary of love and warmth, was destroyed, displacing us into a life of uncertainty and fear. The laughter of my children and my sister's daughters, once the music of our home, is now silenced by the echoes of conflict. They deserve a future where education and happiness are not just dreams but realities.

Our entire neighborhood In Gaza Before and after

we had a supermarket that helped as to live and earn money, but it was bombed and we have nothing now, pic of our supermarket

But our challenges are not just physical; they are emotional and psychological. The loss of my father and the imminent threat to my brother's life weigh heavily on us. My mother, who has endured so much, faces the unimaginable fear of losing another child. For her, for my brother, for my children, and for the future of our family, we seek a new beginning.

We dream of a place far from the sounds of war we want to be safe with my family we dream to move to Egypt to save ourselves

This journey is more than a physical relocation; it is a quest for dignity, for normalcy, for the very essence of what makes life worth living. We seek to restore what conflict has stripped from us: our home, our health, and our hope.

We turn to you, not just as donors, but as fellow humans who understand the power of compassion and community. Your support, in any form, is a beacon of hope in our darkest times. It represents solidarity and a shared belief in the sanctity of life and the right to a safe and peaceful existence.

Our dream is simple yet seems a world away:

to escape to Egypt .

for children to pursue education and a life unshaded by conflict, and for us to honor my father's memory in a land of peace.

However, this dream bears a significant cost, one that is beyond our reach. For each of us to make this journey, to cross borders towards a life of safety and dignity, we estimate the need for at least $5,000 per person. This sum covers the complex tapestry of legal, travel, and initial resettlement expenses.

All of our important links are here

Thank you for hearing our story, for your empathy, and for considering standing with us as we embark on this journey to a new life.🇵🇸🍉❤️‍🩹🙏

With heartfelt gratitude,

Hazem Shawish

Note:

My account vetted by :

@dlxxv-vetted-donations

(vetted)

Hello, I'm Ola, a graduate student from the faculty of science - Al-Azhar University in Gaza Palestine. I truly appreciate you taking a moment to read my story. As you reading my message, myself and my family, “my mother, father, three sisters, and my little brother,” are fighting death in northern Gaza and trying to survive under all kinds of suffering including but not limited to fear, instability, and starvation, thirst, and poverty.

For 11 months until now, we have been struggling to get proper food after prices increased by 15 to 20 times, struggling to have clean water for use and drinking. We lacked security and stability as we were forced to evacuate our house and left everything behind.

I sincerely hope you can empathize with our dire situation and consider supporting us. You can follow me to make sure I am not a scammer and to inquire about any details. Your generosity has the power to make a significant difference.

Please reblog my post, follow me and boost my posts, and repost the link to our campaign across all your social media.

My campaign has been vetted by @90-ghost , @northgazaupdates , @el-shab-hussein , and @nabulsi 's vetted list, line 205.

Thank you for standing by me ❤️.

Please donate and/or reblog 🥺🙏🇵🇸

Dear humanity,

I am Habib from Gaza. I am married and have four children: Menna, 12 years old, Adam, 10 years old (suffering from quadriplegia), Maria, 6 years old, and Ezz, one year old. Although they are young, they have survived previous wars, but this current war is the most difficult of all. This is a war of genocide, and the difficulty of the war lies in the inability to meet the needs of my son Adam, who needs special care.

Over the past ten months, we have been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Our once peaceful home in Khan Yunis has been reduced to rubble, and now we find ourselves displaced in Deir al-Balah, living in squalid conditions in a makeshift tent on the streets. The devastation not only deprived us of our physical shelter, but also destroyed my livelihood - the once thriving business that supported our family's well-being, is now in ruins. The daily struggle for survival is exacerbated by the scarcity of basic necessities such as clean water, adequate sanitation and basic medical supplies

Our home was the place where we found hope and safety, and where we made precious memories. Losing him was like losing years of our lives.

Not only that, they destroyed my source of livelihood, burned it, and demolished it with bulldozers, and today I am without a home and without a job. I was working in a store I owned that met the needs and expenses of my family

Living in tents is miserable. There is a lack of drinking water, hot sun rays, and strange insects that have terrified my children. What hurts me most is my young son Ezz, who I see growing up in an unclean environment and with no healthy food for him. I believe he has not received his right to life.

At this stage, my husband and I decided to go to you and create an account on the Go Fund Me website and ask you to help us in these difficult times until we get out of Gaza, from the land of war to the land of peace. All we need from you is to support us and help us to get out of the war, even if you cannot help. You should spread the word. This campaign is everywhere and among your friends. We thank you for your stance and support for us. Thank you, my friends

The amount that will be collected from this campaign :

We will spend it by paying the amount to coordinate entry through the Rafah land crossing, which connects Gaza to the State of Egypt, since, as I mentioned, they charge an adult $5,000, but depending on the pressures, crises, and waiting, the amount may reach $7,000 per person, and children $2,500 to $4,000.

We will also use it for the rest of the travel and safe transportation expenses to provide for all family members.

A picture of my children's life before the war

May God reward you with all the best and may God bless you

Best wishes with sincere gratitude,

Habib's family

My Instagram account link

My account vetted by:

@dlxxv-vetted-donations

Ahmad Al-Louh, his wife, two children (5, 4), and father in law with diabetes - unvetted but RIS is clean. €1,109 of €50,000

Habib, her husband, and four children 12 and under - unvetted but RIS is clean. kr895 of kr500,000 ($86 of ~$50,000)

Ahmed Al-Habil, his wife, two children, and parents - Vetted (line 163). £4,648 of £81,000