Today , , ,

Today . . .

I will remember you

I will open my journal

I will write about you

I will get distracted

I will write about something else

I will get bored

I will go back to writing about you

I will cry

I will get angry

I will rip the pages from my book and throw them away

I will call you

I will let the phone ring

I will say nothing when you answer

I will hang up

I will take a walk in the rain

I will think of you

I will go back to my journal

I will write about you

I will save it this time

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

I Could…

I could bloom here

in this concrete soil

with its steel skyline

and endless waves of people walking the pavement

or going underground to get from point A to B to C

sometimes stepping on one another

making no eye contact

but connected at the root

I could get used to climbing several flights of old stairs

crossing the street to do laundry

alongside big butt women

with graying locs

people cussing each other out

in front of China King

and Ma’s old stoop

watching the cat who sleeps curled up in the barber shop window

in the afternoon sun

I could bloom here

in the cold

like a winter rose without thorns

trusting the universe to protect me

from danger

in this concrete soil

rising…

Wisdom From an Old Woman in a Window

 

scattered hopes

and shattered dreams

her life passing before her

in milliseconds

remembering time wasted

on worthlessness

too many tasks left undone

and hopeless regrets

if she could do it all again

it would be different

no one would distract or discourage her

or take her off the path

she would stand up

and speak up

even if they didn’t respect or support

or validate her purpose

exchanging her life for theirs

and watching them all prosper and proliferate

at her expense

if you and she were to ever meet

she would tell you

to live your life

sing your own song

and dreams are never too big

they just need to be relocated

don’t stay too long

and don’t leave too soon

always have $20 hidden someplace

where no one else can find it

and always find time to pray

before sunrise

watch your friends

and let God watch your enemies

because sometimes they are identical twins

follow your heart

and listen to what it tells you

because it will never lie

drink half your weight in water every day

and fast every once in a while

to keep your soul balanced

be kind to stay cats

they keep the mice in check

and dance in the rain

when it pours

the grass is green on your side too

and it grows faster when you don’t stand on it

be grateful for small things

and put big things in their place

learn from your mistakes

without repeating them

and most of all

find another young one

and teach her how to be

the best that she can become

because of what you learned from me. . .

 

welcome

my grandmother

always kept a pot of boiling water

on her stove

at all times

she wanted to give a warm welcome

to anyone who came intruding

at odd hours

through a shut window

or a locked door

that pot of water

was her assurance

that whoever showed up

would never forget

what it was like

to go to somebody’s house

uninvited

and next time

be sure to knock

and wait

to be

asked

in

Twerk Show

Little girls too grown
shakin’ and rollin’ and dropping like it’s hot
doing all kinds of tricks
waiting for a real woman
to teach them the way 
to be…
never knowing that
respect is learned by observation
and not by verbs
so these girls 
don’t have a chance
in this world
without a guiding light
to show them
class…
because
due to lack of demand
and an unsustainable supply
self-love
esteem
respect
& dignity
the four most important parts
of a woman
are slowly
but surely
being eliminated from the general population
and skank
is becoming the 
new black

heart to heart

perhaps he lacks the courage to love
or maybe his emotions are unavailable
finding out takes too much energy
... to waste
on recycling love that goes nowhere
giving your heart away
to an empty space
an unfeeling wall
that will only make you bitter
why do you continue
to offer yourself
as disposable…
a throwaway girl whose worth is in her panties
when his only interest
is in what they contain
he doesn’t think of you
as a life companion
you’re nothing more than a whore
he will never pay for
wake up…
smell the coffee
and realize
your value
is more
than just sex
your sacred space
is only for the one who will love you
completely
and not to be given away
for free
for attention
or out of desperation
shake yourself from the dust
see yourself as a queen
stop settling for crumbs
find the whole loaf
and sit at the table
with your king

News...

High winds and storms blow through the northeast again with no end in sight…while hundreds of people run for cover out of the path of the howling torrents, huddled in fear…the ozone layer experiences record loss and the sun will scorch the earth’s atmosphere after Japan’s ocean radiation hits 7.5, the legal limit... as the crafty photographers show off nature’s secrets… somebody please run and tell them to  hurry and take all of the pictures they can because those secrets are quickly becoming copywritten history…and somewhere else a woman can no longer swim in her pool since the city condemned it but she still has to pay the taxes … Marvin sang a song for all times, way before time ran out for him…and the music continues to play on from vinyl to 8-track to cassette to CD to Mp3…Mercy Mercy Me, The Ecology…

 

 

 

thankful

contemplating the future

and remembering the past

we think

we dream

we live

we progress…

continually moving

even if it feels like we are standing still

in a world without walls

standing on a rolling sidewalk

making connections

crafting collaborations

and

uninhibited creations…

being thankful for our many accomplishments

 

 

Priests

Priests...
 Who come to purify our souls
    but leave us with their filth
  purging iniquity from our lives
     and  replacing it with their own
hiding behind the screen of sickness
    lying in wait for innocent ones seeking solace from this cruel world
             into the new world
               to escape the violence within
                  only to meet with anarchy in the sanctuary
                       ruining lives and leaving devastation in the wake of rape and violation by wolves
in sheep’s clothing
laying on hands confusingly placed
leaving marks on our spirits that don’t wash off
 words silenced through big payoffs and excuses
       keeping secrets
          and hundreds of sealed confessions
             with no earthly consequences
Father in heaven help us
    forgive us for our sins
protect us from all who would do us harm in Your Name
       Hail Mary full of grace
          look not on our anger
             help us to forget
       and look for our reward
         in the life to come
             forever and ever
AMEN.

rain

rain go away

we used to sing as innocent children

at play

when the sun refused to come out

and all we could see was puddles and mud

couldn’t go out

or get our feet wet

to keep from catching cold

so we sang a song

of prayer

asking the weather to change for us

until the sun showed her face

but today

this rain is coming down hard

we have no power over its force

of devastation

no safe place to run and hide

from

rising waters running in the streets

full moon watching

tide swelling

banks breaking

ocean and land becoming one

and…

we wait for the sun

to show her face

so again we sing

our song

rain

go away

 

 

 

 

 

Just me

Feeling sad

and alone

wondering what the future will hold

looking for a friend and finding none

only text messages available

people are too busy to listen

or even have a kind word

a bite to eat

or anything

so it’s just me

and God

because that's all that really matters

speechless

i’m speechless

at a loss for words

my extensive vocabulary fails me right now

i ran out of things to say

prayers to pray

confessions and affirmations to make known

so I stayed up past midnight silent

eating forbidden Oreo cookies and drinking tea

alone with just my thoughts

reading a book I bought

funny how the tv  my friend gave me stopped working today

for no apparent reason

the light stays red like something is wrong inside

as if it knew

like a short

or a fuse is out

and it will cost $200 to fix but how

can anyone put a price tag on something that is priceless

a life

a heart

a soul

a body

that is broken

i wonder why i suddenly feel like hitting somebody

when those who claim to know so much could be so wrong

and be so powerless to save

how would any of them feel to be told that everything will be alright

and wake up the next day to find out that they were all wrong

i hate the world right now

and all of its lies

God please help me to understand

why

after all of these years and millions of dollars

they still can’t get it right

how many have died waiting for a cure

to this disease called cancer

the crab that crawls into lives uninvited

paying no rent yet claims squatter’s rights

determined to take eminent domain over every avenue and street

while we wait

and hope

have faith that God will intervene with His hand

if he should choose to trouble the waters

and save

my friend

she hides it well

she hides it well

words in her back pocket

stashed away in closets

pushed aside and stored in boxes

to be filed at a later date

she learned early that dressing the part makes up

for what was lacking inside

and she hides it well

skirting around the real story

quickly changing the subject

when the topic gets too intense

she looks for the nearest exit

and makes her escape

she hides it well

covering her scent

to throw off a would-be pursuer

diving into the water to confuse even the most skillful hunter

when she is the prey

never getting caught

or trapped as she calls it

staying free

and undomesticated

no one’s slave or property

alone is where she remains

and although she cries inside

she hides it well

 

 

 

 

 

 

untitled

i grieved
as my life passed before me
my world turning into the deluge of Katrina’s torrents
imagining myself floating perilously away by disaster down Canal street
overtaken by the waters of death
never to be seen again

i grieved
as i passed through overturned graves
deceased dreams
decaying remains
and disintegrated souls

i grieved
as i stepped over broken hearts
shattered bodies
devastated minds
moving towards annihilation
mutilated and scarred beyond recognition…

but i survived

 

#23

i’m #23 on the list
sitting in a room filled with a curious vibe…
an eclectic group consisting of the types of men that normal women run away from
it’s a creepy crowd of various hues
awaiting the stage
among this malevolent bunch
some of them smell real bad
but everyone has something to say
their words are fire
their songs are heaven
and i’m #23 on the list
at this open mic…
where only the hour hand on the clock
moves

where is my poem?

waiting for me
in the inner recesses of my mind
where no one sees
...not even me
screaming to come out of obscurity
mystery
hidden identity
and tell its own story
no longer sworn to secrecy
and bound by metaphors
but revealing the naked truth for all to see...

~ from "Hairstory"