Happy birthday to Ms. Giovanni

Today we celebrate the life of a woman that had a major influence through her stories and poetry to the next generation of writers and also rapper 2Pac. Her Source threw a celebration in her honor as she inspire those to go after their dreams and be what they want to be. Not only, she’s a writer but also an community activist, educator, and professor at Virginia Tech. Throughout her writing career, she was able to write about her life, love, and dreams. In celebration of her birthday, here is her poem Ego Tripping (There May Be A Reason Why) that all women could relate to that is also similar to her late friend Dr. Maya Angelou poem, Phenomenal Woman

Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

I was born in the congo
I walked to the fertile crescent and built
the sphinx
I designed a pyramid so tough that a star
that only glows every one hundred years falls
into the center giving divine perfect light
I am bad

I sat on the throne
drinking nectar with allah
I got hot and sent an ice age to europe
to cool my thirst
My oldest daughter is nefertiti
the tears from my birth pains
created the nile
I am a beautiful woman

I gazed on the forest and burned
out the sahara desert
with a packet of goat’s meat
and a change of clothes
I crossed it in two hours
I am a gazelle so swift
so swift you can’t catch me

For a birthday present when he was three
I gave my son hannibal an elephant
He gave me rome for mother’s day
My strength flows ever on

My son noah built new/ark and
I stood proudly at the helm
as we sailed on a soft summer day
I turned myself into myself and was
jesus
men intone my loving name
All praises All praises
I am the one who would save

I sowed diamonds in my back yard
My bowels deliver uranium
the filings from my fingernails are
semi-precious jewels
On a trip north
I caught a cold and blew
My nose giving oil to the arab world
I am so hip even my errors are correct
I sailed west to reach east and had to round off
the earth as I went
The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid
across three continents

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal
I cannot be comprehended except by my permission

I mean…I…can fly
like a bird in the sky…

-Matia (@ms_hip_hop)