Among my many joys of living in New York City is when I get to exchange with old friends who are doing amazing things out in the world. Recently, I exchanged with just such an old friend, esteemed playwright and poet Aleshea Harris. She said she had the blues. It’s the human condition, no doubt, and for Black artists, the blues have been the source of so much light. It’s true, they’re no fun, but one thing I’ve learned is that we are given our gifts and our trials in roughly equal measure. And our gifts are our best magic against our trials. So we keep making.

We walked through Central Park. I took photos in Kodak Portra 400. Below are a few I liked best. Whenever you get the opportunity, make sure you check out Aleshea’s work. It has never not been transcendent.