Paula Grissom, Sharan Strange, Maria Clark
In Her Voice
Always their voices drawing her—
the syncopation of refrains
(I do declare... No! You don’t say...)
phrases drifting down to sprinkle
thirsting girlhood (What you say?)—
Disdain or praise, perfect-
pitched motherwit,
their tutelage soaked up
like milk... Resonant strains
of laughter or what they sealed
into snuffed tones of pain...
All of it stashed—sacred—inside—
The strongest pull, she feels it
even now....
You lived under the eaves
of that kitchen table,
didn’t you? Catching every
word, every breath...
Finding refuge in us,
as from our voices’ call
your response bloomed.
Now look at you—
no longer a child,
it’s true—though always
your mama’s baby—and
womanish... (But, hey,
we were too!)
The trees have changed again—
green to saffron to copper brown.
I am like those trees, their leaves
soon drop but their branches
staunchly stretch and sing
when strummed by winds
until they become full again
and return to sighing by spring.
Like all trees, flinging their leaves,
releasing parts of themselves
for the promise of renewal...
reckless with faith.
Paula Grissom is a pianist and professor. She currently serves as the chair of the Music department at her alma mater, Spelman College, where she teaches courses related to women, race, and music. Dr. Grissom formerly taught piano, music history, and music theory at Winston-Salem State University, and she has been a music specialist and choral instructor in the Atlanta Public School system. She has presented her original research on race and gender in the music classroom at numerous conferences, including the National Association for Music Education. Dr. Grissom is a former winner of the Atlanta Steinway Piano Competition. In Her Voice received the Carnegie/Rockefeller Division of the Arts Priority Award.
Sharan Strange teaches writing at Spelman College. Her recent work appears in The Art Section: An Online Journal of Art and Cultural Commentary and the anthologies Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry and Bigger Than Bravery: Black Resilience and Reclamation in a Time of Pandemic, and is forthcoming in Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters. Her writings have also been included in gallery and museum exhibitions in New York, Boston, Atlanta, Oakland, and Seattle; and her collaborations with composers have been performed by American Modern Ensemble, The Dream Unfinished Orchestra, and International Contemporary Ensemble, among others.
Maria Clark is acclaimed for her virtuosic skills of expressive singing across the idioms of opera, oratorio, and art song, particularly for her superb vocal control while presenting a beautiful, rich, and layered voice. She has been the soloist for several high-profile events—such as the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the Toni Morrison Memorial Concert in Atlanta, and the Opera Goes to Church series on PBS. She has performed opera throughout Europe and South America and was the Oxnard Gold Medalist winner of the 2004 American Traditions Competition and a winner in the West Palm Beach Opera competition. Her recently released debut CD of African American spirituals arranged by Maria Thompson Corley, entitled Soul Sanctuary, is available for purchase on Amazon and other major online music platforms. She is a senior lecturer of Vocal Studies at Spelman College and a voice instructor at Emory University.