To Be A Prophetess
God called you by a blessed name, Prophetess
Then wove Heaven into the palms of your hands.
As we floated down the river Nile
It was our lives you watched over
Our victories you prophesied and imagined into song
But, Prophetess, there will be those who despise you; the wrathful, the envious
Who crave to tear your holy linens from you
For your voice will rise as thunder amongst whispers of doubt and disbelief
and your flesh they will deem unworthy of your divine name
But they will not make kindling of your triumph, no.
For what is a grain of salt to a blaze?
They will curse, they will agonize, they will celebrate, they will praise
They will speak of everything but you
Until your life is a hymn no more.
Tell me, if miracles leave my lips, will they forget me too?
Janan Graham-Russell
Janan Graham-Russell is a writer based in Evanston, Illinois. In 2016, she graduated from the Howard University School of Divinity with a Master of Arts in Religious Studies. Her writing focuses on culture, history, religion and theology through Black feminist and womanist lenses. Her work has been featured in The Atlantic as well as Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings (2015) and A Book of Mormons (2015). When she's not writing or doing research, she enjoys dancing to Beyonce, watching films, and spending time with her husband and infant son.
All posts by Janan Graham-Russell
Janan, this is a powerful, beautiful, painful expression of truth. Your words are indeed prophetic as they reach from past to future through this present moment.
Hallelujah! God is good. And so are you.
Thank you, again. I always look for your ‘posts’.
Wonderful.
You know, the lesson manual for Judges casts Deborah as a “good friend” to Barack, who is painted as the hero of the story. No mention of that dangerous P word. “Speak of everything but you” is painfully accurate.
The lesson for that manual is simply shameful and completely indefensible. As GD teacher I spent that whole lesson basically calling it out on the carpet and turning it into a discussion of different ways Deborah has been portrayed in modern Mormonism. From official church sources and most leaders except one or two women leaders it painfully shows how uncomfortable we are with discussing Deborah as having any sort of ecclesiastical or political power. The manual is the worst incarnation but the rest arent much better.