bring back our girls

bring back our girls

lives that cannot be thrown away

tossed out like garbage

like unripe fruit

picked before its time

flowers that never had a chance to bloom

bring them back

so they can flourish

they need the chance to breathe

and not inhale the foulness of old men’s breath

or feel unclean hands

and hear words not meant for their ears

bring our girls back

they are not just our future

but our present

their presence matters

to somebody

even if not to you

find them

like precious jewels in Nigerian caves of

aquamarine

emerald

amethyst

garnet

tourmaline

topaz  

zircon

and sapphire

search for them

they are wondering

they are waiting

hoping

praying

crying

wailing

for someone to come to their rescue

please

Selah...

They twerked at church
And their father beat them
with an extension cord.
Twerking
Church
Extension cords
Father
Beatings
Five things that don’t belong together
in the same space…
where is the village
where are
the church mothers
the elders
the love
the holy examples
the prayers
where is the family
where is God
we are so preoccupied
with trying to escape from the real world
that we have left the children behind
they don’t know
that their bodies are sacred temples
because nobody told them
so they have nothing else to do
but twerk
at church
who is teaching the fathers
to talk to their daughters
and treat them like queens
instead of choosing to beat
with extension cords
as the beat goes on
and on
and
on
somebody
please find a young girl
and tell her that she’s beautiful
as womb-man
God’s last creation
and so much more than what she sees on BET
somebody 
please elevate her consciousness
teach her how to love herself
and her life
somebody
please find a father
help him to put down the extension cord
and find peace within himself
somebody
please help the church
to be the sacred space that God intends
a place of change
and revelation 
no more
twerking
beating
and vicious cycles
only light
where only sacred dances
are done
in peace…
Selah

beautiful black girl

 beautiful black girl…

daydreaming of unexpected treasure washed upon the shore

randomly gathering shells and relishing the days of no worries, concerns or cares

beautiful black girl…

innocently digging holes in the sand

running from the waves on bandy legs like a sandpiper bird

never knowing that the waters of life will catch her

soon enough

lost in the motion of her thoughts that carry her heart to distant places

returning with the tide

and going back out to sea again

beautiful black girl…

see yourself as more than what the world says that you are

the thoughts of your Creator towards you outnumber the grains of sand in your pail

how wonderful you are to Him

be true to yourself and to your dreams

and always keep a smile

as you chase the tide

April 14...

it’s so hard to understand
     how motherhood could ever drive her own soul into the Hudson river
                     while carrying the innocent ones who ask why...
there are no answers
only questions
and the world is a much emptier place
because motherhood gave birth to her own demise
and we grieve…

(c) 2011 PoetryofMotion!

i wish...once...now...

I wish... that i knew back then what i knew now, without the lessons...that i could write in 7 languages...that chocolate was the universal currency...that there was no such thing as hypocrisy...that tomorrow was promised...that people would only make promises they could really keep...that life didn't hurt so much sometimes...that no child would ever have to cry...

~ from "Images Emerging III"