1
When I no longer have your heart I will not request your bodyyour presenceor even your polite conversation. I will go away to a far countryseparated from you by the sea– on which I cannot walk –and refrain even from sendinglettersdescribing my pain.Alice Walker
2
On Stripping Bark from Myself(for Jane, who said trees die from it) Because women are expected to keep silent abouttheir close escapes I will not keep silentand if I am destroyed (naked tree! ) someone willpleasemark the spotwhere I fall and know I could not livesilent in my own lieshearing their 'how nice she is! 'whose adoration of the retouched image I so despise. No. I am finished with livingfor what my mother believesfor what my brother and father defendfor what my lover elevatesfor what my sister, blushing, denies or rushesto embrace. I find my ownsmall persona standing selfagainst the worldan equality of wills I finally understand. Besides: My struggle was always againstan inner darkness: I carry within myselfthe only known keysto my death — to unlock life, or close it shutforever. A woman who loves wood grains, the coloryellowand the sun, I am happy to fightall outside murderersas I see I must.Alice Walker