Well the funk is in the house solid
And aint no kinda funk can rock the soul
Like the James Brown kind
“Baby, baby, baby – baby, baby, baby –
Baby, baby, – I gat the feelin”
C’mon now James
Taking a sista to church – all holy ghost sweating
Manic feet shuffling and whatnot
Hardliner is bidding adieu to the jacked up
Year that was 2014 in the only way she can
A funktified – right down to your bones – celebration
Because she earned that ‘Grand Dame Queen Beast’ title

And now it is harvest time
Sista gurl intends to Work that Thang in 2015
That right here is her New Year’s resolution – come hell or high water

And do you know you are harvesting Chile?
Cause everything has its season
While you are harvesting one blessing
You will be tilling your Earth to sow another
Rennah appears in her path – in the middle of
Hardliner’s victory shuffle – and just as her knees
Were about to hit the floor to be caped too
What’s worse – Ms. Rennah has that little knowing
Smile twitching the corners of her mouth
An irritating amusing smile – like that of a mama
Taking in the dramatic antics of her little girl
Well – aint nothing wrong with celebrating
The feeling that goodness is about to hit your life
Hell – the New Year should be about hope and faith
Hardliner offers defensively
And why by the way should she be defensive about that?
She asks herself

Why in deed? Almah answers
If you’ve got your Thang locked down

Hardliner purses her lips – wanting to say something funky
Her James Brown high is quickly dissipating
His super bad funk don’t hit her the same no more
On the account that the questions being posed to her
At the moment require deep inner reflection
And the Godfather of Soul is a bit too much
For a sista to think past his grunts – screams and screeches

As if on queue Nanna enters their circle
Clarity is best received in serenity
She is a vision in white flowing robes
Her head as usual is wrapped in a sky blue cloth
Hardliner puts a pause on Mr. Brown and his funk – for a while
Then takes a couple of deep breaths so that
She is seated in her power
Her jungle smells different – there is a tang in the air
The salty tang of an ocean – which seems closer with her every step
She looks questioningly at her guides
Who keep facing forward as they walk in purposeful strides
Seemingly entranced in the moment – as if answering to a higher calling
Hardliner’s knees feel wobbly as she bears witness to this scene
Her Earth Mothers’ effortless surrender to the Great I Am
Their blind acquiescence to HIS WILL without reservation or resistance
Puts sista’s attempts at obedience to shame
But then – it is not that she has not tried
Again – she acknowledges the defensiveness that
Has risen up like bile from the depths of her stomach
Anyway – how does she get to that level of obedience
Without it rankling her – her…–

Ego? – Ms. Nanna supplies with that soft smile

Hardliner will admit that it always comes down to Ego
Slaying that hoe is a twenty-four-seven job

It should not have to be so Baby
If you lay down all your weapons
Kneel on your holy ground and pray every morning
You must have and stick to a daily spiritual practice
Rennah states

Hardliner sighs – she knows that the buck stops with her
Every morning the alarm goes off
Which she quickly silences – in almost supernatural tiredness
And goes back to sleep
Hey – 4 in the am aint easy
By the way – she thought this session was about
Bringing in her harvest and shit

When and if you call on God in prayer
After your scheduled time – in a hurried state
Do you actually expect to bring in a bountiful harvest?
Your swan song is entitled ‘Me and Mr. Indiscipline’
You pretend to get your knickers in a twist over it
And do nothing about it
God is on schedule Chile – you however are not
If you want to get back on track
Meet your heavenly Father at the anointed time each morning
Then we can talk victory shuffle
The energy of the colour red pulsates in Hardliner’s dome
And Sista smiles ruefully – as she takes in the fiery Almah’s real talk
Yet she is strengthened by the fact that
If this were a couple of months aback
This truth would have sucker punched her to the ground
A serious lights out experience
She stops in her tracks upon reaching her jungle’s edge
With her mouth literally open
There it is – an expansive ocean – a massive body of wild water
In which she would be too punk ass to fake Flipper in its shallow
In fact looking at that water –
Hardliner surmises that there aint no shallow to it
The deep starts right where the water meets the shore
Aint no getting her feet wet in that one
But it sure is beautiful – she affirms taking in her surroundings

It is said that ‘nature is the garment of God’
Ms. Rennah comes up from behind her
She tucks her arm through Hardliner’s elbow
Let’s walk towards the water baby

Uh – say what?
Hardliner is wary – dem Earth Mothers are a hardcore bunch
Her anxiety is all the more heighted upon seeing
Almah and Nanna waist deep in that crazy water
Relax chile – nothing here is above your capability
Rennah sets Hardliner’s nerves to rest with that musical voice of hers

Yeh – but sista is in awe of that water
Over 70% of the Earth is covered by water
When water gets pissed awf – things get real ugly
The 2004 tsunami victims can testify to that

And the point is? Rennah asks

I aint going in that water Ms. Rennah

Life is like that water Chile
Unpredictable and at times crazy
But if you face it through your fear
It opens up for you – like the birth of a new day
Filled with hope and joy
And you will be the stronger and wiser for it
But then again you already know this

But what does this have to do with harvesting though
Yall are on at me about my earth
Why this – she points to the ocean

Everything answers to purpose
Rennah answers with a light chuckle

Yeh – well this scene gats baptism all over it
Hardliner adds with a tinge of salt in her tone

There is more to bringing in a harvest than
Your victory shuffle
Where are your reaping tools Chile?
How are you going to ‘Work that Thang?’

Dang it!
Hardliner looks out and over the wild water
Searching for the answer to her harvest riddle

Don’t belabor it Hardliner
The answer is there within you
Do you believe in your Thang – your IT – your Zen spot?
The thing that drives you beyond the need for
Money – validation – prestige
Once you have arrived at the place of acknowledging
The purpose for which God put you on this Earth
There can be no hesitation in doing what you have to do

Hardliner knows her Thang – she believes in her Thang
The IT that makes her who she is
Furthermore she is a woman with a plan
But what she is now getting is that each stage of her plan
Requires harvesting and sowing – and most likely
There will be times when she will be doing both simultaneously
So sista knows exactly what she will be soon harvesting
And to pull that baby in – she needs discipline
Or more aptly – commitment – an out of body type of commitment
To maintain a solid daily prayer routine
Cause she has walk in the shadow of God to pull in her harvest
Then she has to have faith in the manifestation of her harvest
And Work that Thang in joy – not a make shift kind – but real joy
The Universe does not reward bitterness and self pity
With a bountiful harvest
Gurlfriend has to squeeze joy out of every blessed day
No matter how jacked up things get
These three tools – commitment – faith and joy
Will ensure Hardliner’s great harvests

Sista scans that wild water and figures she will go in anyway
Working that thang – takes balls of steal
And she is a Grande Dame Queen Beast after all
Ms Rennah – she notes has already joined Almah and Nannah in the water
They wait for sista’s entry
This is her baptism – her choice
There will be no surprise manhandling or unceremonious
Ducking of her head underneath the water
Her acquiescence signifies Hardliner’s submission and commitment
To working her IT – her Thang – rocking her Zen spot in 2015
This is her blindly giving her ALL to the Almighty
Without reservation and resistance
Hardliner braves the breaking waves at the ocean’s shore
I’m ready she simply states
Fully cognizant that she is still a woman in progress
With her chacks – kinks – and misdemeanours
Nobody is perfect – she walks this life striving to be whole
Believing that she is limitless
Knowing that the Great I AM has her back
What is there to fear then?
So sista goes under willingly without any stipulations
With her Earth Mothers around her
Offering prayers of joy and celebration
The water feels so fresh and alive on her head – against her skin
She comes up from underneath that water enthused and hopeful

And it is done! – chorus the Earth mothers

Umph – the feel good funk is back – rocking her dome

“I gat the feeling – baby baby -I gat the feelin’ nah
Yesssssssss – James is back baby
Sista is doing some supernatural shuffling in the sand
A black and surely beautiful – so hot – she could kiss herself kinda shuffle
Come on yall – cape me!
Hardliner drops to her knees in jest
But tears mist her eyes when she feels that velvet cape about her shoulders
Put there by none other than Almah
No words are exchanged between them
Silence is enough to convey the deep respect each
Woman has for the other
Hardliner is humbled – and completely undone inside
As she fights to control her emotions on the surface
Hell – aint nobody seen Mr. Superbad – Say it Loud I’m Black and Proud
Sex Machine – Cold Sweat – God Father of Soul James Brown
Cry like a wuss whilst doing his Thang in the spotlight

Almah chuckles then shakes her head
She turns to walk back to Hardliner’s Jungle
Joined by the two other Earth Mothers
Hardliner knows that their time with her is over
But she has this feeling that they will hook up again
Sista does not have time to mourn their absence
Because she does not need them anymore
They have prepared her for the next stage in her journey
2015 – where you at?
The count down has started
And sista will meet the New Year with funk tearing up her dome
She gon christen it with the squeals – grunts – screeches – screams
And other unidentifiable sounds of James Brown
Cause can nobody understand what hell James is saying
God bless his funky soul
RIP Brutha!