Shaniqua McCants' Intro

Feels like I...

Seen it before...

Smelled it before...

Breathed it before...

Felt it before...

It all feels like Nostalgia...

(X3)

From the orb of the water womb

I absorbed nautical notes

Frequently, from my folks, in the audible

As the presence of my pop’s bass faded

My mom’s vocal became jaded

Her warm alto told a story like Alpo

Worrisome tunes

Young beautiful, burgeoning Black adults

Thank God umbilical chords masked distortion

Of brass blown out of proportion.​

When momma felt joy, that relaxed me

I would dance delicate dances when she’d asked me

Everything she tasted, I tasted

Joyful times were times ten

Confined to her fetal-like, feeling of a time lapse

Everyday reminded

Finite confinements are winding to its climax

I’d never thirst til the water burst

Now, birthed to this Earth

Unrehearsed, I traversed into verse

And my first words, they were...

Feels like I...

Seen it before...

Smelled it before...

Breathed it before...

Felt it before...

It all feels like Nostalgia...

(X2)

Shaniqua McCants' Bridge

What becomes of a raisin in the sunlight, upon sight?

Tell me are you startled at its ripeness?

The same fruits on a shaded path, are the grapes of wrath

You should marvel at its likeness

A dream deferred and re-enacted

Still, my hands buried in the blur of my blackness

FEEL.. the way I merge my recital

With tribal dances on these rhythms

To lure rain from Heaven on these vineyards

Faced with me chasing a profit or being a Man of God

Spiritual war, digital swords clang in analog

Equal parts paranoia, focus and euphoria

A student, lover, poet, a warrior, Me..

Everything I see feels so routine

Like white terror peppering the best of our cuisine

To the chef, God bless you and God rest you

As I sip wine, and dine on the house special, it feels like...

Feels like I...

Seen it before...

Smelled it before...

Breathed it before...

Felt it before...

It all feels like Nostalgia...

(repeat)