Black Excellence – Page 5 – A Cornered Gurl

My Kid Sister Isn’t a Baby Anymore

07/09/202507/13/2025trE

And I honestly don’t know how I feel about that.

*Sobs uncontrollably all over these photos*

If you’ve been following this blog for a while (or my previous blog before it) or you’ve followed me on Medium, then you’ve likely read about my kid sister. Today is her 26th birthday, and it hit me like a Mack truck that my baby is no longer a baby. She’s closer to 30 now than she is to age 20, and I’m seriously in my feelings about it.

I’m wallowing in crocodile tears, mentally flipping through the memories of us as she was growing up, and reminiscing about her toddler years, and I am NOT okay. Lol!

She’s beautiful. She’s intelligent. She’s talented in so many ways. She has a love for musicality and can sing the socks off most people I know. To say that I’m proud of her is a major understatement.

Here’s a snippet from her birthday poem:

You are the blessing I
prayed for–my dream come
true. Every day, I am
wowed by the woman you
are becoming, and I bow
before your changes.

You restore all that is
good within me, and there’s
no price for that.
I’ll never be able to repay
you, but I’ll love you until
my last breath.

I wished for a sister for so long. It was one of the things that was HIGH on my list of wants as I was growing up. To have that dream come true and my wish granted when I was 19 years old was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Bless, you are amazing, and I am so proud of the woman you have become, and I look forward to who you will be in the future. Keep shining, kiddo! I love you!

Please join me in wishing the kid a Happy Birthday, folks! 26 years on this earth is a testimony nowadays, and I am over-the-moon that she has one!

Collaborature’s June Contest Winning Poem

07/01/202507/01/2025trE

lady in purple (at 5:10 AM)

I definitely DID NOT expect this, but I am honored and humbled by the fact that my submission of lady in purple (at 05:10 AM) is the winning poem for June. Many thanks to Melissa Lemay and the judge, Lesley Scoble as well. I am including the audio for the poem in this post, and I will also share a snippet of the poem with you here.

lady in purple by Tremaine L. Loadholt

lady in purple (at 05:10 AM) snippet by Tremaine L. Loadholt

If you’d like to see the poem in all its glory and structure, please visit Collaborature, which is where it is hosted. I appreciate your time, mind, and eyes, and I hope Tuesday is more than kind to each of you.

Peace and blessings.

until it all fades

06/27/202506/27/2025trE

musical selection: One Step Ahead, Aretha Franklin

One Step Ahead, Aretha Franklin via YouTube

until it all fades

we’re all just moving
about robotically;
carrying years of
hurt on our backs.

our scrabbly efforts
have done nothing to
alleviate the pain.

forced to exist in a
world of crafted
terror, the light at the
end of the tunnel
f a d e s.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love

06/27/202508/10/2025trE

#3: Erykah Badu, Orange Moon

I’m an orange moon/
I’m an orange moon/
reflecting the light/
of the sun

Erykah Badu, Orange Moon via YouTube

This will probably be my favorite segment on my blog in a very long time! Welcome to Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love!

Lyrics by Badu. Music by Badu, Bray Lon Lacy and Shaun Martin. Production by Badu and James Poyser.

Track 10 on Mama’s Gun, “Orange Moon” is a jazz-influenced love ballad. As on previous songs, Badu’s lyrics employ the imagery and symbolism of teachings of the Five-Percent Nation, the Supreme Alphabet and Supreme Mathematics.

In Five-Percent symbolism, the sun and moon represent the Black man/masculinity and Black woman/femininity, respectively, while the star represents the Black child.

By the time of the recording of Mama’s Gun Erykah was in a relationship with rapper Common, also a follower of Five-Percent teachings. Erykah and Common were both associated with the Soulquarians collective, who collaborated on the recording and production of both Mama’s Gun and Common’s 2000 album Like Water for Chocolate. Several lyrics in Common’s 2000 single “The Light” from Like Water for Chocolate employ mutual sun/moon imagery in a similar romantic context.

Erykah Badu is one of my favorite Neosoul/R&B artists. I can float to another galaxy while listening to her music. What is it about the opening lyrics of this song that moves me? To recognize one’s moon status versus the sun’s is a gift. We as women do not often shine in the face of the sun (often depicted as male and ruling the day and the moon (female), ruling the night.), so Erykah with her raspy, jazzy, and comehither voice announces her orange mooness and its capability to reflect the light of her sun, and that sends me to places I have only dreamed of existing in. It’s also such an incredibly beautiful song.

For the next seven Sundays, I’ll share with you my favorite opening lyrics to songs I truly love. Maybe you’ll enjoy it. Maybe you won’t. Perhaps you’ll share favorite opening lyrics to songs you love as well. Perhaps you won’t. Either way, we’re going to have a good damn time.

See you next week!

Hair, Hair, Glorious Hair!

06/14/202506/16/2025trE

Ájá is growing beautifully, and I’m over-the-moon about her progress!

Ájá, post-shampoo and conditioner, and our retightening appointment. I love what she’s doing, and I’m totally here for it!

Something To Think About #16

06/08/202506/11/2025trE

Living in “softness” is something many of us cannot afford, but should be able to experience, too.

“Taking the Soft Life for Myself,” that’s what I would name this photo if it were up to me. Courtesy of Pinterest.

Thank you for being here for the Something To Think About feature. These past sixteen weeks have been fun, informative, exciting, and hopeful. I appreciate your presence here at A Cornered Gurl, and I am grateful for each of you.