“done got good to me”
“done got good to me”
by Malik Johnson, 20, he/him/his
how do i best describe the feeling? the overwhelming & all-consuming fire that doesn’t always show up when i want her but always when i need her. she lives in the lines of poetry, in the lyrics of hood hymnals and always rests in the creative iterations of imagination. she exudes warmth, comfort & peace. her ability to manifest joy is unmatched and all powerful. she is love. simply & beyond.
from the words of bobby rush’s 1970 song to the mothers of the right-side pews, “it done got good to me” is a phrase i know all too well. the phrase in either context speaks of something so overwhelming that it molds the english language. it evokes a feeling that is known to come with a curl of the lip, a quiver of the body or a stomp of the foot; anything to show just how good it done got. i believe the only difference is what these two individuals have decided the “it” is. mother describes it as the spirit, the Holy Ghost, the goodness of the Lord. it comes when she thinks about Jesus and all that he has done for her. bobby speaks of “a love so strong” brought on by the wiles of a woman. an irresistible feeling that takes control of the mind.
i rest somewhere in between.
for me the “it” is unknown. she is too powerful to ever be confined to some human construct. that is why i call her love. simply because we have yet to figure out what love really means. much like the spirit that the church mothers scream & holla about, some things are just not meant to be understood. but rather to be embraced, given full control of the moment. when “it” comes, i just sit in her because that is all she requires of me.
she calms all of my fears, soothes all of my doubts, makes me conscious of time and teaches me to revere the simplicity of serenity. she is grace & mercy. she exists in each and every one of us waiting to explore the world thru our expression. thru our art. i have never experienced her as a result of my doing, only thru the works of others & i find comfort in that. because that is her gift. that is what she offers.
she creates hope. she walks in peace. she is love. simply & beyond…