Seated At The Table
I pressed play on Solange's A Seat At the Table and wrote nonstop until the album was over. A stream of consciousness if you will. The raw uncut version is wayyy longer than this one right here and there is a final edit version that I condensed into the piece you have here.
Thanks to Jason E.C. Wright who helped edit my craziness. This is my version of an album review.
Get into it. Or get left. You choose.
Be weary of the ways of the world.
This world is not my home
I'm just passing through
That's what they tell me
This skin, this body
— Who do they belong to?
Why does my heart want what it
Can't have?
Where do I go to find solitude?
To find P E A C E?
There's nowhere to run
Nowhere to hide
This skin, this beautiful, beautiful
Brown skin
Why me?
Why
Why
Why?
I— I ran around in circles
But circles bring about
Infinite possibilities
So I ran
And I ran
— Ran from myself
Sat in the center
Of that circle
And stared
At those Cranes in the Sky
Why does my heart want what it
Can't have?
Where do I go to find solitude?
To find P E A C E?
There's nowhere to run
Nowhere to hide
This skin, this beautiful, beautiful
Brown skin
Why me?
Why
Why
Why?
I— I ran around in circles
But circles bring about
Infinite possibilities
So I ran
And I ran
— Ran from myself
Sat in the center
Of that circle
And stared
At those Cranes in the Sky
This brown skin
Why are you so beautiful?
Can I cry away the pain?
Do they know that I cry for them too?
The brown skin feels like
A string of flowers wrapped around my neck
You know
And oh
How beautiful those flowers are
But I can't breathe
Am I strong enough?
Am I beautiful enough?
Am I beautiful enough?
Am I lost?
Where am I?
Am I gone forever?
I'm so mad
— Mad at all those who told me they loved me
Then left me sitting in a pool of my own tears
Where can I drop off the sadness?
Is there Postmates for that?
I suppose I could drop it off at the loading docks
Kick it into the sea
I got a lot to be mad for
But where did your love go?
Where did my love go?
Do I love
— Do you love me?
I can't feel that
I can't feel love
Why you always gotta be so mad?
Where did your love go
This place is not my home,
I'm just passing through
This soil is tainted
My family's blood are on those leaves
America the Beautiful
This s*** ain't free
There's a sticker on my head
And Babylon is on its way
To collect their week's earnings
Don't touch my hair
Don't touch my soul
My crown
They say the vision I've found
When it's the feelings
I wear my crown
You are not wanted here
My braids swing relentlessly
In the belly of the beast
I spin
And spin
Til those braids wrap their loving arms
Around mine
Let it go
Start again
Be free
This is home
Home is where my
Heart is
I've been trying to
Get back to that
B**** ever since
She's found a place
To be
— Without me
I suppose my chest
Wasn't big enough
For the two of us
This used to be
You and I
I shake all the beads
Out my hair
And now the floor
Is a sea of dreams
And innocence
Where do I go from here?
I am but a Creator
A facilitator
A conduit
A tool
Use me
Bare all your fears onto me
And I'll safeguard them
Do you want them back?
All those secrets you told me
You can keep them in the secret place
Of the most high
You know God is a black woman right?
I'm going all the way
But
I'll leave on the lights
For you
It's getting late
So I can't stay
But feel free
To follow me
What does feel free
Got to do with it?
We ain't free
Never gonna be free
Freedom costs
And I'm broker than a mother—
I ain't got no job
Just a lot of dreams
And
A lot of debt
You ain't gotta go
But never feel free
It's a hoax
A false prophecy
That you'll pass down
To your kids
And they to theirs
But don't get it twisted
We ain't never gonna be free
Don't say that
The joke's on you
I'm going all the way
But
I'll leave the lights on for you
Those people that paved the way
They kept rhythm
We came here as slaves
And
We leave
As royalty
The chosen ones.
