<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;" class="">praise song</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal; min-height: 22px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">to my aunt blanche</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">who rolled from grass to driveway</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">into the street one sunday morning.</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">i was ten. </div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">i had never seen</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">a human woman hurl her basketball</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">of a body into the traffic of the world.</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">Praise to the drivers who stopped in time.</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">Praise to the faith with which she rose</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">after some moments then slowly walked</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">sighing back to her family.</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">Praise to the arms which understood</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">little or nothing of what it meant</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">but welcomed her in without judgment,</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">accepting it all like children might,</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class="">like God.</div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal; min-height: 22px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Lucille Clifton</div></body></html>