Her Source | Happy Birthday Nikki Giovanni! matia June 7, 2014 Her Source | Beauty and Fashion Trends, Hip Hop Community News Happy birthday to Ms. Giovanni Today we celebrate the life of a woman that had a major influence through her stories and poetry to the next generation of writers and also rapper 2Pac. Her Source threw a celebration in her honor as she inspire those to go after their dreams and be what they want to be. Not only, she’s a writer but also an community activist, educator, and professor at Virginia Tech. Throughout her writing career, she was able to write about her life, love, and dreams. In celebration of her birthday, here is her poem Ego Tripping (There May Be A Reason Why) that all women could relate to that is also similar to her late friend Dr. Maya Angelou poem, Phenomenal Woman Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why) I was born in the congo I walked to the fertile crescent and built the sphinx I designed a pyramid so tough that a star that only glows every one hundred years falls into the center giving divine perfect light I am bad I sat on the throne drinking nectar with allah I got hot and sent an ice age to europe to cool my thirst My oldest daughter is nefertiti the tears from my birth pains created the nile I am a beautiful woman I gazed on the forest and burned out the sahara desert with a packet of goat’s meat and a change of clothes I crossed it in two hours I am a gazelle so swift so swift you can’t catch me For a birthday present when he was three I gave my son hannibal an elephant He gave me rome for mother’s day My strength flows ever on My son noah built new/ark and I stood proudly at the helm as we sailed on a soft summer day I turned myself into myself and was jesus men intone my loving name All praises All praises I am the one who would save I sowed diamonds in my back yard My bowels deliver uranium the filings from my fingernails are semi-precious jewels On a trip north I caught a cold and blew My nose giving oil to the arab world I am so hip even my errors are correct I sailed west to reach east and had to round off the earth as I went The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid across three continents I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal I cannot be comprehended except by my permission I mean…I…can fly like a bird in the sky… -Matia (@ms_hip_hop)