I dine on matzah brei smothered
with strawberry jam or grape jelly
 in the Spring of each year. 
Though I attempt to eat slow,
too soon it disappears.  It takes 
me back to a younger day.
But there is something else
that hangs heavy in the air
to remind of a time
when my ancestors fled
their captives with no time
for their daily bread to rise. 

As I eat this as a breakfast treat,
I recall a time when my people
were not free.  I too was a slave.
(c) By Richard (Dick) Epstein

Sistah Joy was appointed as the inaugural Poet Laureate of Prince George's County, Maryland on September 18, 2018. since 2003, Sistah Joy is known for messages of social consciousness, inspiration and empowerment.  She has blazed literary trails for over 25 years through her impassioned activist poetry. In 2002 she received the Poet Laureate Special Award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities “for her outstanding contributions to the art of poetry in Washington, DC.”  ​