Does Your House Have Lions?Does Your House Have Lions? explores the life of Sonia Sanchez's brother - a vibrant young man who left the South for New York, immersed himself in the city's gay subculture, and became a victim of AIDS in the first years of the pandemic. Sanchez describes her brother's alienation from his family and his illness and death from AIDS with her characteristic tenderness. Told in the voices of sister, brother, father, mother, and ancestors, it is the story of kin estranged and then finally brought together by their shared history of loss, separation, and pain. This brave epic poem shatters silences surrounding gay sexuality in African-American families and imagines the possibility of reconciliation and love. It offers a meditation on the living meanings of journey, life, and death - an opportunity for all of us to find a way home. |
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Common terms and phrases
African ancestors anger arrive ayyyyyy bars beautiful became become began blood blue body breath BROTHER BROTHER mangi nyo called child choice coming constant corpuscles cough cursed dance dead death doctor dreams echoes entered eyes face fanan MALE look father FEMALE jamma FEMALE nyata flesh forget forgive hair hands hear heart hold hospital HOUSE HAVE LIONS hurted jamma ga fanan kind laughter legs light limbs lions MALE nyata MALE/FEMALE maleikum mangi nyo MICHIGAN LIBRARIES moist morning mother mouths move never night nightmare oseee yei pain praise pray prepared rattle ready resident rumor says share sister skin slow smell smile son's soul sound southern stand stone sweet teeth tell temperature thighs thin tongue turn UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN veins voice waited walking watching women Wounded young