It was sometime in July before I traveled to Los Angeles that I felt tingling inside of my chest. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew it was worth looking into. I made a doctors appointment to further review. I thought it was butterflies fluttering or nerves that I allowed to get the best of me, but I had to know for sure. The doctor asked I touch my toes, nose, and further supposed that maybe quite possibly I swallowed a seed. I walked away from that appointment so confused. I eat healthy. I’m sure I swallow seeds all the time and not one made me feel this way. Later that night I prayed about the seed I swallowed hoping the feeling soon passed. God told me, “My dear, you swallowed a seed, a seed that was a dream. A dream that you are now blooming inside of you. You feel uncomfortable because growth is uncomfortable, but the bloom my child is beautiful.” - Monique Lorde, 1985PoET . Visual Artist . Poet