Praise God for my good health. April arrived in Harlem still so chilly I fixed echinacea and goldenseal teas each morning to ward off colds, pneumonia, and croup, after walking home every night in wet clothes. After three weeks here I hadn’t seen a single show in New York, but I did know that Harlem must have the dirtiest theater floors in New York.Most days Aunt Valentina’s eyes seemed so sad I thought she forgot she even saw me. And whatever had made me think that Aunt Valentina could help me keep our family together? That was why I had wanted her to come to Raleigh, so I could stay home and we could take care of Poppa — or at least see him. But here we just staggered from one awful night of scrubbing to another.I closed my journal, tired of drawing and writing. Momma would say I should pray for the Lord to turn my burdens into blessings. If I could do that, maybe I could lift my aunt’s spirits, as well as my own.Aunt Valentina had gone out again somewhere. I hoped she’d return with food.
What do You think about Celeste's Harlem Renaissance (2009)?
