Plagiarizing myself...

Sometimes, I really don't know what I'd do without Alise and her blog. I know y'all probably sick of hearing about it, but I really do owe that woman a debt of gratitude...

My creative side, the love-to-write-wanna-be-a-poet side of myself had sat dormant for so long, I had begun to forget that side of me ever existed.

Anyhoo... enuf of the "I stan for NaturallyAlise" stuff. Here are two pieces I originally wrote for her blog poetry slam. She comes up with the best writing prompts!

The first prompt is "I miss you."

In your absence

I am observant

of that sacred space

Reserved for your presence.

There is no inticement,

Nothing sufficient

to cause a violation,

to motivate migration.

Because with you not here,

there's nothing for me

on your side of the bed.

The prompt for this piece was "parts of speech."

We were past tense
and again are present tense
will we be future tense
or past perfect, is yet to be seen.

Your past participle
predicates my future perfectly,
but I don't want to split my infinitives
as I wait out the verb that's also a noun
and look to infinite possibilities.

Hope you like these little offerings!

THEM

Composed at a moment of realization and clarity. Maybe not the most "poetic" thing I've ever written, but it's honest at least!

Maaaannnn....

I'm sick

of them!

Sick to the point of fallin out

of them!!

Ready to have it out

with them!

Just absolutely unquestioningly

tired of them!

To hell with them!

Fuck them

and their opinions,

and their misconceptions,

and their perceptions,

and their good intentions,

and their questions,

and their preconceived notions,

and all of that!

Who are they anyway?

You tell me

what they have to say

to you

about me

and the way

I choose

to live

my life.

You keep me

informed,

in the loop,

in the know....

Awww....snap!

I see.

It's not them

judging me.

Fuck YOU!

road trip with erykah

I've been working on this poem for a little while now, and was having trouble with it after the second stanza. So, I did what you have probably come to expect of me, and I ran it past Alise... my poetry guru. *waves to Alise*

Her words of wisdom were let it find the flow, and the rest would ride its own wave in... and tonight, it did.

Check out Alise's blog coz she's the business!

Black Woman Lost & Found

Road Trip With Erykah

Shifting into drive, and rollin' out

Miles stretching out before me like a promise.

My travelling companions on the pre-dawn highway...

my over-taxed,

overflowing,

over-active

mind

And Erykah's voice.

The sun rises to my left and

waves away the dusky purple shadow

of night's last sigh.

"Honayyyyyy...... you're soooo sweet"

the lyric coincides with the gilding of a new day.

Note by note and mile by mile

driving the pain away,

leaving Thought along the road,

let that raggedy hitch hiker fend for herself.

Lyrics, fluid from my speakers,

flood my mind.

Rising like the tide

to wash away the memories

and burdens.

In this solitude with Erykah's voice,

I am finding a small, quiet place.

It is mine.

And the miles roll on under my tires.

I am farther from home,

closer to where I am going,

and not wanting to get there.

Yearning for the journey,

not the destination.

It is mine.

Like silk ribbon through slack fingers,

the notes slip through my brain.

Caressing away the tense expectation

of resistance yet to come.

For now, the music says,

let this be enough.

Let go.

Yes...

Let this ride last a little longer,

safe and alone in my capsule of sound,

wheels turning...

and delivering me away....

Even if it is temporary,

it will be enough,

and...

it is mine.

before and after times

This is something I worked on today and wasn't sure if I was ready to post. But after I ran it past Alise n got a little feedback, I decided what the hell...

Now, baby, you know I'm into you.

And there's not a thing wrong with it

when intimacy and physical are in union.

In other words, Love, the sex is that shit...

but...

yes, there's a but...

That's not what I crave.

It ain't sex that makes me sleepless

for days and days,

causes me to be distracted,

althought I am attracted

to your package

and your performance don't ever make me mad...

What really makes me hold on

steal one last embrace before you go on

your way, and about your day,

is the before and after time.

It's in the way you look at me with knowing,

and your intentions show in

your eyes.

The touches as we pass in the kitchen,

and in "Baby can you scratch my back?"

When "we" is more than you and I.

And it resides in the warmth of the bed when,

bodies touching and spent,

you stroke my face and arms,

shoulders and back and thighs,

hands visiting the soft places

in the small of my back

and the nape of my neck.

Quiet voices, bedroom voices in flickering light.

Small talk, and "I love you"

and the tv reflecting in your eyes...

and your eyes on me.

"What?"

"Can't I just look at you, baby?"

And you do.

Until sleep takes us both into the night.

It's this,

the before and after time.

No, don't get me wrong, man.

Your sex... is more than just alright.

But the lovemaking!

That happens in the before and after time.

But maybe I over think things....

Sometimes

I have to roll things around in my mind...

Like a snowball in reverse

melting away the extraneous

the extra layers on the outside

to get to what's on the inside,

at the center of things.

Sometimes

I have to peel back the layers of wrapping

pull off the ribbons and

discard the packaging

get to the plain truth

of what's inside the box

at the heart of things.

Sometimes

I find it takes some time

to discover what I really feel

to find the core

the central truth

the source.

Sometimes

I don't always know what I think

caught in torrents of feeling and impulse

and I don't want to proceed

until I'm sure of my course.

Sometimes

my mind is a busy place to be

with all the analytical activites

but always,

it's good to get to the root cause.