tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55620182462791179512024-02-20T17:03:55.343-08:00Life Intentionally..im a poet. its time i start acting like it. im a thinker, a feeler and a lover. that's what poetry has been for me since i was 12! a way to be fully myself and now im ready to share it. the good. the bad. the messy. the vulnerable.. its life and life intentionally and on purpose.
XOXO Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-9005935837487147382014-07-18T11:20:00.005-07:002014-07-18T11:27:28.267-07:00to the bottle boy <div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">To the bottle boy </span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /><br />Your soiled clothes gave it away</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">It was not the horn you blew</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Like trumpets announcing the arrival of the king</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Not a shofar but Shabbab</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A young man with a shopping cart full of bottles</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Who hoped in and out of dumpsters</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">As touring tourist rush to see the tomb</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The garden trace the footprints of a savior</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">In your backyard</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The political implications</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The religious conflict that seems less real the longer I'm here</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">For the call to worship at 3 am reminds me</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This is not a land of just one but of many who live</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">And breathe and love and worship even</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkmYQNt6NxVrl-PxNe0zLyanVI92Cr2oK73nIFgZOaXYTYvih6NlOs1a44W0cPBj0udb3fW4VGQHVSCrwhnceKDktJYM8Dujo_z9r5QUUkGeD14QAY1_Jq2a9kuzNb__XEeoMJxwajV4/s1600/944119_787124838904_1900434041_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkmYQNt6NxVrl-PxNe0zLyanVI92Cr2oK73nIFgZOaXYTYvih6NlOs1a44W0cPBj0udb3fW4VGQHVSCrwhnceKDktJYM8Dujo_z9r5QUUkGeD14QAY1_Jq2a9kuzNb__XEeoMJxwajV4/s1600/944119_787124838904_1900434041_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Admist rocks and tank rockets and checkpoints</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I wonder if the bottle boy dreams of peace</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Wishes for passage free from any scrutiny</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Could he aimlessly wonder over hillsides</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Trace historic footprints</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">And drink in fancy hotel lobbies?</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The interpersonal informing the systemic</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The local informing global</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I am a stranger in this land</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <br /><br />Taking snap shots in my mind</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I want to claim space here</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Say my savior would see fit for a Christian presence</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">But space seems to Presious a commodity</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">To exert</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I don't know what to do with the profound</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The profane how to makes sense of it all</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Learning and leaving</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">While you stay in soiled clothes blasting your horn so I</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">And you don't forget you are here and you are real</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /><br /> To the Palestinen children for whom home is unsafe and </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Live in poverty and inequality</span></div>
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Lessons from Maya<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Own your story <o:p></o:p></div>
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Mother Maya wrote the pain down <o:p></o:p></div>
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So it didn’t<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>consume <o:p></o:p></div>
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Her <o:p></o:p></div>
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Turned hurt into passion <o:p></o:p></div>
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Anger into fire<o:p></o:p></div>
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That didn’t burn <o:p></o:p></div>
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But would push<o:p></o:p></div>
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Carry and convict with <o:p></o:p></div>
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A question or a poem <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Queens shouldn’t run <o:p></o:p></div>
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From their stories<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hold them in the palm of<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our hands<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let them live and breathe<o:p></o:p></div>
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Squeeze and let go <o:p></o:p></div>
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Lest we be victims of<o:p></o:p></div>
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A world not meant for us<o:p></o:p></div>
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Not fair for us<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We control what we do <o:p></o:p></div>
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With our lives<o:p></o:p></div>
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How we make them count <o:p></o:p></div>
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Give birth to the dreams <o:p></o:p></div>
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That <o:p></o:p></div>
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The world tries to beat <o:p></o:p></div>
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Out of bellies<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Behold <o:p></o:p></div>
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Black woman brilliance <o:p></o:p></div>
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I would offer <o:p></o:p></div>
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You words<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But you had so many<o:p></o:p></div>
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And you gave them <o:p></o:p></div>
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Freely <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We don’t own language<o:p></o:p></div>
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We command it<o:p></o:p></div>
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Use it in service <o:p></o:p></div>
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To our people <o:p></o:p></div>
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Even though it has limits <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I wish upon your star <o:p></o:p></div>
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That you knew <o:p></o:p></div>
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How bright you shined into my life<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Just as you drove streetcars <o:p></o:p></div>
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Over streets<o:p></o:p></div>
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Danced to your own beat<o:p></o:p></div>
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Became queen <o:p></o:p></div>
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And poet <o:p></o:p></div>
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And the embodiment of <o:p></o:p></div>
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All about black womanhood <o:p></o:p></div>
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All that is complicated <o:p></o:p></div>
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All that is perfect <o:p></o:p></div>
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All that is worthwhile<o:p></o:p></div>
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And <o:p></o:p></div>
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All that is unknown <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It is said that if a writer falls <o:p></o:p></div>
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In love with you <o:p></o:p></div>
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You can never die<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And Maya <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our beautiful winged bird<o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally free<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Will always FLY <o:p></o:p></div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-29095437425907060502014-03-02T17:12:00.001-08:002014-03-02T17:12:05.882-08:00for Renisha McBride <div class="Section1">
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Renisha McBride.. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope your name makes noise</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaks loud and bold</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brave and clear</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For every name like yours</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your name the one </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That they make fun of </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Call ghetto </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And say will never allow you to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Get a job</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We want you to be the lip popping </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gum smacking</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Goddess you are </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or the only one we will allow you to be</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In our memory </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The one that we suit wearing </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Professional house ladies </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Detest because you remind us </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That even we are disposable in all our upward mobility glory</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We want to remember your name</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Make it mean more </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Than bullets to the brain</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And front porches</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We want every black girl body </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To carry weight </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speak volumes </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Make noise </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Be loud </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We want it to be more than just a whisper</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For once in history </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We want to tell the story on </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our own terms</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Share our pain </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our grief </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Be more than footnotes in black male profiles </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And end notes in white women sympathy </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We want every syllable to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Choke the speaker’s throat </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take up more space than commonly </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Allowed </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Celebrate </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cry </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laugh </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Be fully human</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For once can we shame </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Big Mama’s steady strength with </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A moment of weakness?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can we love ourselves? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can we stop pretending? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can we love each other</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Enough to say enough? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can we have a collective moment in space? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A time for us</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A time for you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are because you are.. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Re-Nis-sha</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Re- Nisha</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ReNisha </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
r-ne-sh-a</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to say your name so </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t forget my own</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to say your name </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I can love my own </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not just another name</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not just another black girl body </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not just another girl child </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whose life isn’t worth anything? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To not only white men </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But black men </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And other black woman bodies</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have been taught our lives</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are disposable </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So we don’t value each other</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us call you name </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like children of the dusk </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Calling for the sun</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us call your name like </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stars calling for the moon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like trying be whole </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you’re told your half</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I can’t seem to shake the feeling </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That you need your name </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Known for more </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Than wide lips </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And car accidents</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For more than being on the wrong porch </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For more than Detroit </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Along with the others </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sarah Bartman </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us call your name </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With those women </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who have been strange fruit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jeenie Steers</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laura Nelson </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bertha Lowman </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mary Conley</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or ones who have died </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slow deaths on other trees </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shirley Sherrod</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anita Hill </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rachel jeantel </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mamie </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Welfare Queen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like Baby Mama </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us call your name </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Renisha McBride</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So we don’t forget our own </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So we don’t choke </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On our own voices</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And think that </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are not already </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whole </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-79808911823244127502013-10-30T16:37:00.001-07:002013-10-30T16:37:24.000-07:00B- Side <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Behold</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Black girl brilliant</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her brains will have you believe </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She belongs on thrones </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead of the belly of boats </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before she was brethren </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She was broken </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Busted and left out </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By baller boys who faces turned blue </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because of she made it hard to breathe </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Boys who loved her bottom </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So she trades blossoms for </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bags tried to break her bedazzlement </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bestowed her greatness on </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People who could not handle the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weight of her being </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So they called it baggage </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tell her A-side is B class at best</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
blasphme this butterfly </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Behold </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Black girl beyond </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
not basic</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
blessed </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
not bruised </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
love her </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
know her </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
befriend her </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
because before she was understood </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
before she could be the balm </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
before we study the biography of her </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
she was beloved </div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-68445505656670645212013-08-09T12:52:00.000-07:002013-08-09T12:52:50.306-07:00love this its hard to love this flesh<br />
<div>
that everyone curses</div>
<div>
people poke and prod </div>
<div>
and open wide up </div>
<div>
to examine</div>
<div>
if your really made of </div>
<div>
tough stuff</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
we mules of this world</div>
<div>
who carry it </div>
<div>
all on strong backs </div>
<div>
with clenched jaws</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
dont tell me about any other </div>
<div>
people </div>
<div>
i only know my own</div>
<div>
how successful you </div>
<div>
are is related to </div>
<div>
how anti black </div>
<div>
how anti woman </div>
<div>
you become </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
and hear i stand at all those</div>
<div>
cross roads</div>
<div>
wondering if my adhd </div>
<div>
mind will be silent </div>
<div>
or my hands will stop turning over</div>
<div>
pages of text and scriptures</div>
<div>
and find respite </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
where is the well spring</div>
<div>
the water</div>
<div>
when your to tired to go looking</div>
<div>
and to thirsty to even admit </div>
<div>
you have want relief</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
dont make my 26 years tomm </div>
<div>
try to mean something </div>
<div>
package all my shyt </div>
<div>
in a nice box with a neat bow</div>
<div>
somethings</div>
<div>
just need to be burned</div>
<div>
lets the ashes</div>
<div>
be scattered</div>
<div>
as sacred </div>
<div>
an atonment </div>
<div>
an offering to a god </div>
<div>
i soemtimes question</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
let me be enough as it stands</div>
<div>
in all its confusion </div>
<div>
and brokenness</div>
<div>
all its want </div>
<div>
and need </div>
<div>
let it stand alone </div>
<div>
be enough as it is</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
so that when it comes out dancing </div>
<div>
it will count for something</div>
<div>
it will be tangible </div>
<div>
and quantifiable </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
let it live so </div>
<div>
it may make its own memories</div>
<div>
out of its own dreams</div>
<div>
and for once</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
know it is good </div>
<div>
it is complete </div>
<div>
it lacks nothing</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
so i may know </div>
<div>
so she may know </div>
<div>
it is good </div>
<div>
it is complete </div>
<div>
even in its mess </div>
<div>
and crazy its enough </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-32744394317501031782013-07-05T14:35:00.001-07:002013-07-05T14:41:47.145-07:00napkins and names <br /><br />I write your name over and over on a napkin as I sit in a bar drinking cold beer and eating colder wings <br /> Every stroke of the pen makes me more aware of the ache in my heart <br />It started off as an absentminded type of thing <br />A way to pass the time since you left and now with every pen stroke and L my heart bleeds<div>
So I keep writing your name because at least now I know why the ache is there </div>
<div>
For the first time is months I feel <br />And although it pain I settle for it <br />Because your name on a napkin makes my heart remember its alive <br />I wish I had some resolution <br />Some neat lesson I could summarizes and make sense of something <br />that make my fingers remember to write or my eyes dance <br />you were that <br />A incarnate reminder of my own beauty reflected back to me <br />Now your just a name on a napkin in a empty bar<br />A broken promise <br />A memory of all I had stopped hoping for <br />There is no space for my name on this napkin<br />You take up every crevice a urge I fought against when we were dating<br />It's funny when you were here I wanted space <br />Your gone and I long for some proof that you were real <br />That you existed <br />That I didn't just conjure you up<br />I need to know it was flesh and bones <br />Heart and head <br />Not just imaginary dinners <br />And long talks <br />I need to be reminded of mountains<div>
See your name sketched in grand cannons </div>
<div>
But your just names on a napkin <br />Where there is no space for me.<br />I wonder if my name was smaller could it fit <br />If I was smaller if I shrunk would I fit?<br />What if my name was more powerful more demanding <br />Would it leave space for both of us <br />Maybe there is just no room for both of us <br />No room for mistakes <br />No room for missteps <br />No room for two people on a small napkin <br />So I wrote yours because mines seems wrong right now <br />It seems like all of the we didn't work<br />I called it to fast <br />I am too emotional <br />Insecure didn't ask enough questions <br />Rest on my name so I write your trying to understand breaks and breakups <br />Death and loss <br />Most of all just trying to see if one day I will ever write your name so much that I forgive <br />And move on <br />And remember the syllables of my own broken sound <br />Unabashed and imperfect <br />But always my own name <br />My own being <br />Always my own power <br />And length <br />Never tucked into neat packages <br />For wrong men <br />Who never have space for mistakes <br />Or anything that illogical <br />Never room for me <br />One day hoping that my name too <br />My feelings too<br />My ideas <br />My thoughts too will matter</div>
</div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-23952103304832879072013-06-01T07:49:00.001-07:002013-06-03T09:32:52.453-07:00built houses <br />Why don’t you believe in second chances? <br />Its easier to walk away <br />Then fight for worthwhile lives<br />I too used to take my bruised ego <br />Lick wounds in lonely places<br />And wish someone loved me enough <br />To come find me<br />But it was never about them <br />It was always about me <br />I needed to come to a place of <br />Worthiness<br />Where my own healing wasn’t tied to what <br />Someone did or didn’t do<br /><br /><br />I wish for that for you <br />that you see your own beauty <br />Your own greatness<br />Your own healing seperate from the mistakes and <br />Mishaps of others<br />Then maybe you would believe in second chances<div>
Too</div>
<div>
<br />Maybe then you could build dreams on unpractical ground<br />Build houses of brick and motor<br />and permanency<br /><br />I'm trying to build houses </div>
<div>
16th street style <br />Mansions <br />Victorian French doors<br />Spanish adobe style <br />Cottage quaint <br />Southern big post columns with <br />Expansive memories <br />And enough space to breathe and move <br />With someone else <br />Someone not you <br />Someone who only wants me to occupy his house <br />Likes me for how he feels around me <br />But he is not home <br />He is not you <br /><br /><br />You are mow the lawn <br />Run through the sprinklers <br />You are BBQ and backgammon <br />You are the things love stories are build on and hard times lean on <br />You are how houses are built<br />Over time<br />Careful <br />Brick by brick <br />Moment by moment <br />Every overcome Argument <br />And late night convo <br />That makes us remember our humanity <br />And maybe your my Romeo <br />And I'm not your Juliet but atleast I know how I want my house built <br />how i want it to look<br />what i want it to feel like<br />i will always rearrange furniture <br />i will always change the energy <br />fung-sha<br />to make it better<br />but the foundation will always be reconizable<br /><br /> dont be scared of second chances<br />of big houses<br />with poweful women<br /><div>
and big dreams<br /><br /><br /> women who like you used to run<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
</div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-68561097030711899322013-05-11T19:18:00.000-07:002013-05-11T19:18:15.726-07:00for our grand grandparentswho taught you to be poised in the face of challenge?<br />
i watch you smile<br />
and cry half tears<br />
down a face with cheekbones<br />
sturdy from turning them over to your enemies<br />
<br />
i would have cried had they put me out<br />
clung on for dear life<br />
in the face of insurmountable odds<br />
i dont leave neat<br />
dramatic tends to be my specialty<br />
<br />
and who taught you grandfather<br />
how to love with you life<br />
set an example<br />
with your movement<br />
<br />
the last time i saw you you were little<br />
not the big man i remember<br />
i hear stories about you leaving south carolina<br />
during the great migration<br />
and think would i have had the courage to choose?<br />
<br />
leave or stay<br />
stay or go<br />
sometimes its easier to not pick<br />
a destination<br />
to wander<br />
and be free<br />
but you didn't have the luxury of dreams<br />
<br />
your hard work<br />
paved the way for me<br />
to be a little more leisurely<br />
<br />
and this is for our grandparents<br />
the ones who did back breaking<br />
work so i could pick up pencils<br />
<br />
the ones who aren't heroes<br />
lived quiet lives<br />
in unfamiliar cities<br />
these are for the ones<br />
the jim crow south spit out<br />
or swallowed<br />
<br />
i cant imagine not becoming invisible<br />
yet you worked<br />
for me<br />
for us<br />
and so this is for the elders<br />
that loved us<br />
and gave us spankings and peppermint candies<br />
dollars and stories<br />
fried chicken and sweet tea<br />
<br />
this is for the heroes<br />
on whose strong<br />
shoulders we stand<br />
and whose shadows we will never<br />
be fit to walk in<br />
<br />
this is for the ones who really raised us<br />
and whose memories keep raising us<br />
we rise for you<br />
for whoever taught you<br />
has taught usNanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-34113348870387749462013-04-21T03:36:00.004-07:002013-04-21T03:36:43.382-07:00we are we are women<br />
who love men<br />
who love themselves<br />
<br />
women who risk and<br />
pray<br />
and rise<br />
and pray<br />
and lay<br />
and pray<br />
<br />
we are women<br />
who plan<br />
and plot<br />
how to roll away stones<br />
at tombs<br />
hostile<br />
takeovers<br />
in Sundays<br />
best<br />
<br />
sometimes though in the quiet<br />
of the morning<br />
in the stillness of the trees<br />
who sit undisturbed<br />
nothing can be heard<br />
but anxious breathe<br />
<br />
we want to scream<br />
in the silence<br />
make a scene<br />
disturb the stillness<br />
so that<br />
for once<br />
something can feel like we do<br />
<br />
have you ever<br />
held your self together for someone else?<br />
taken shallow breaths so someone else could exhale?<br />
have you ever cried for 90 seconds<br />
because that how long you had?<br />
<br />
we are women who love<br />
women who love us<br />
when we cant love us<br />
<br />
we are women who work<br />
and wait<br />
and wait and work<br />
<br />
women who try and ty<br />
and try and ty<br />
<br />
made out of silk<br />
and cotton<br />
our hearts are woven together<br />
tightly until we give someone<br />
a pair of scissors<br />
and the potential to hurt us<br />
<br />
we are women<br />
who take the mess<br />
of life and make masterpieces<br />
<br />
women who live in a world<br />
but are from somewhere not of here<br />
we are of the soil<br />
and the sand<br />
<br />
women who know we are only as strong<br />
as our last heartbreak and<br />
best friendship<br />
<br />
<i><b><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The older we get, the more we understand that the women who know us and love us - and love us despite what they know about us - are the joists that hold up the house of our existence. Everything depends on them.</span><span class="userContentSecondary fcg" style="background-color: white; color: #89919c; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span></b></i>Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-78504485497659874002013-04-18T08:12:00.003-07:002013-04-18T08:12:36.269-07:00bracing <br />
Bracing<br />
<br />
I wont be held hostage by your feelings for me<br />
The ones you cant process<br />
So you allow them to chew over in your mouth<br />
Mix with insecurities<br />
And double over with fear<br />
Until that which is good becomes bitter<br />
And no I didn’t ask you for your heart<br />
I was contend<br />
To wait unitl you gave it freely<br />
So please don’t treat me as if<br />
You are doing me a favor<br />
<br />
And fear seem the basis<br />
Of all of our doubts<br />
And I doubt if you even<br />
See me anymore the way I show up<br />
Don’t withhold yourself from me<br />
Id rather you leave<br />
Then be half hazard<br />
With my feelings<br />
you said once you prayed you wouldnt hurt me<br />
what did you think ignoring me would do<br />
what would it solve<br />
<br />
i am forgiving<br />
but i am not stupid<br />
i wont watch you<br />
become unfamiliar<br />
and wait on the sidelines<br />
i told you my secrets<br />
thats my own foolishness<br />
i own that<br />
i have learned<br />
nobody can hold me<br />
better than i can<br />
<br />
and so its over<br />
as quickly as it started<br />
and im left bracing<br />
for impact once again<br />
waiting for the crash<br />
for the tower<br />
to come crumbling<br />
and to feel<br />
but that never happens<br />
<br />
im so used to being left<br />
i never leave<br />
this time though<br />
im walking away knowing<br />
i was vulnerable<br />
i tried my dammest to be seen<br />
you just couldnt handle<br />
what you saw<br />
<br />
and no i dont fit into small boxes<br />
and neat spaces<br />
i am contradictions<br />
and tension<br />
i am a workaholic<br />
who hates working out<br />
who gives her last without question<br />
or regard<br />
i snore<br />
i have big boobs bras dont hold<br />
i like holding hands in public<br />
i would have sat still for you<br />
<br />
i would have waited for you to come<br />
home from parties drunk<br />
held your head over toilets<br />
<br />
it wouldnt always be sunny<br />
but i would go to hell and back<br />
for light<br />
<br />
im not perfect<br />
i cuss to much<br />
think to often<br />
disconnect fast<br />
i struggle<br />
i dont always communicate well<br />
<br />
but i would have tried for you<br />
i would have left work at work<br />
turned off my phone<br />
<br />
i would have never tried to change you<br />
i would just become a better me<br />
<br />
and no im not three square meals a day<br />
i drink to much coffee<br />
i baby my brother<br />
i go to church to often<br />
i am distracted<br />
and organized chaos<br />
is how you once put it<br />
<br />
but i would have laughed and cried with you<br />
i would have been broke with you<br />
and fought with you<br />
i would create memories with you<br />
and climb mountains<br />
and cook meals<br />
i would have been a mirror for you<br />
so that you could see your best self<br />
<br />
now im just bracing for the next impact<br />
the next heartbreak<br />
the next mis step<br />
praying the next time im honest<br />
and vulnerable with a man<br />
he doesn't decide im not worth the fight<br />
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-36738504456031042072013-04-16T09:27:00.001-07:002013-04-16T09:27:14.483-07:00fear fear speaks in a voice that<br />
sounds like someone i trust<br />
tells me run in the<br />
opposite direction<br />
away from the unknown<br />
and in times of transition<br />
like these i want to listen<br />
to fear<br />
stroke his ego<br />
tell him he is right<br />
and righteous<br />
tell him im sorry<br />
for ever doubting him<br />
for imaging possibilities<br />
and promises<br />
tell him he is my one true<br />
love<br />
no one else could ever know<br />
my dreams<br />
my desires like he does<br />
and thats why his voice<br />
speaks so loudly<br />
it drowns out my own<br />
<br />
fear tells me that every thing<br />
that could happen will happen<br />
so i brace walk around tense<br />
and stressed worried<br />
about falling in love<br />
and out<br />
worried that every call<br />
or every word spoken<br />
or not means something<br />
<br />
fear tells me my worth is predicated on my<br />
work and so my work<br />
becomes my worth<br />
and i forget to dance<br />
to eat<br />
to live<br />
to learn<br />
to be<br />
with my whole heart<br />
<br />
there are some non negotiables<br />
to fear<br />
one is surrender<br />
i must turn over everything in my pockets<br />
in my purse<br />
he needs full range<br />
he needs all my attention<br />
all my devotion<br />
and so i come in empty<br />
and you fill me up<br />
<br />
second is intuition<br />
he cant have me listening to my gut<br />
he must have me in isolation<br />
so only his words ring true<br />
<br />
third is unworthiness<br />
i must be convinced that<br />
nothing else is acceptable or possible<br />
and fear has won<br />
<br />
but there was something in my hands he<br />
didn't confiscate<br />
something he missed during our first<br />
water boarding session<br />
where i was completely<br />
immersed<br />
drowning in his lies<br />
learning to swallow him<br />
and throw up anything else<br />
it was hope<br />
<br />
hope a small thread<br />
of grace wound up wrapped around my fingers<br />
and i held on to it for dear life<br />
rubbing it between<br />
my index and thumb just to make<br />
sure it was real it was there<br />
and it spoke to me<br />
for the first time this morning<br />
as i laid choking<br />
and crying on fear<br />
screaming and swallowing<br />
<br />
it said<br />
you are more than enough<br />
and i dont why but this morning i believed it<br />
this morning<br />
i trusted something other than fear<br />
<br />
i dont know the awsers<br />
most days i dont know the questions<br />
i dont know the outcome<br />
most days it doesnt matter<br />
i just know that today<br />
i saw my first love as a liar<br />
and i dont know if i could ever look at him the same<br />
<br />
its not failure that scares me<br />
i do that daily<br />
and the promise<br />
and possibilities of<br />
a life more than<br />
that make me thankful for hope<br />
and grateful that i finally saw him<br />
for who he is<br />
<br />
<br />Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-15781550662594046602013-03-20T07:38:00.003-07:002013-03-20T07:38:38.894-07:00thank you <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Half written poems<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And books everywhere<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My fridge is bare<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And my laundry is piling up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I never thought I would <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The girl whose house is <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is left Abandoned<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While she chases dreams<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And bats eyelashes <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Over drinks with you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A beautiful distraction <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the mundane <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the ordinary<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the dutiful<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the ache <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The longing for something more<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That persistently shows<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Up at inopportune times<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So this is a thank you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From my house<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For being what I need<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For being something more<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Than something to take care of<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For something to distract me<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a thank you for being a beautiful surprise <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-76062414285962793402013-01-30T13:48:00.002-08:002013-01-30T13:48:58.775-08:00stories <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I haven’t felt myself</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The weight of the work</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carried on shoulders</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not strong enough</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To know that it is not me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who sustains this</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think sometimes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That I must have a</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Big ego</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some confidence</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An audacity </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To dream the world different</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I am just a girl</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who looks though </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pyramids</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And sees possibilities</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Narrow lens </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And see a way</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I carry stories</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ones that threaten</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To choke me </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I ever forgot </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their impact</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their magnitude</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And this is an ode</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For stories</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the people </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who have made it impossible </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To forget</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the ones yet to come</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And ode to my story </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That converges </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And meets in the middle</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To the students</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The women</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The folks </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who inspire me </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To fight </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Im down to nothing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wouldn’t be myself</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wouldn’t feel myself</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I forgot </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I didn’t remember</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The work will be there</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will be there</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The stories make it possible</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To believe in something different</div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-57950540763825043252013-01-02T14:16:00.001-08:002013-01-02T14:16:57.652-08:00untitled <br />
<div class="WordSection1">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I was scared today<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">A brown boy <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Who resembled my brother <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">With a ski mask <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pulled up over his head<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Got on my train car<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I gave him a half smile<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Acutely aware of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The kindle fire<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I fumbled to tuck into my bag<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And I was nervous <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I thought he might take <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">My new found Christmas
present<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I was reading <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">A book oddly enough called <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Colonize this<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">People of color writing about
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">How colonization has impacted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The way they do life<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Do love <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Relate to people who look just
like them<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Somewhere between a college <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Degree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And being a “young
professional”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I have found myself in a
weird <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 10pt;">Juxtaposition</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Unable to relate <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">To my community <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And scared <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Of how un-black <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">That makes me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Then guilty<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">For ascension is never easy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">With a race <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">A people <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">on your back<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I was scared today <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And I felt guilty<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">As I toyed with my coffee cup<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I wondered if people saw me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">What they would think <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">What kind of nicely dressed <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Nigger bitch is scared of a <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">18 year old who could be her
brother<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Would it justify all their
hatred if I too <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Was nervous<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">One who <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Preaches self love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And community <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">But is not quite sure what <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The fuck that means<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And who she is accountable to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I don’t know how this shell
of a woman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The same one <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">That walked alleys with boys <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">With more bodies <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Then parts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Teardrops and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Gang tattoos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Stuffed drugs in titties<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Growing from puberty <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And drove in stolen cars<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">More times than <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">She would ever admit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Could be scared<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Where is fearless<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Where is belonging <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Where is home<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">When not only it but you <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">have become unrecognizable?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I was nervous today <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And I wonder what kind of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Black girl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Clenches something <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">That </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">isn't</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> hers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Closely to her chest <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">So afraid of what she might
loose<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">What she might give up<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">That she holds on to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">A life that </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">doesn't</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> really
belong to her<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">What kind of fraud what kind <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Of colonized <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Self loathing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">White loving <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Yuppie <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Does it make me <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">That a boy who looked like my
brother<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Scared me <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">And I <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Now scare me too <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: auto;" />
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-54327305104592342312013-01-02T06:57:00.001-08:002013-01-02T06:57:37.520-08:00Whole Heart <br />
<div class="WordSection1">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Half woman<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Half gypsy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My
heart wonders<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Aimlessly
over hills<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
To
restless<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
To
settle on one spot<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It
may find rest<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Instead<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Im
unsteady<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Wobbles
on unsure legs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I
doubt<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Will
hold the weight<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Of
which I carry<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Weight<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That
is found around fat<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Edges
of a heart<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That
drifts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Picks
up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Debris
of the wind<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And
wonders if it is possible<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
To
ever stop<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Or
be still<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Still
waiting<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Wishing
that there would be<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Some
place I felt<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I
belong<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I
am no rebel<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My
nature<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dictates<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That
I must leave<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Fear
of failing<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Makes
me press on<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
constantly
juggling<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The
practical<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With
the free<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Free
is how I love<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
While
I carry open<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Wounds
I have yet to<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Allow
someone to cauterize<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I
give<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Free
falling<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Equate
love with never saying no<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Because<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
No
is a word<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That
has consequence negation<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Has
a but<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
But
I am just woman<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Just gypsy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Whose
empty places<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Take
up a lot of <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Room
in still ness<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In
sameness<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In
not leaving<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Leaving
is safe<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A
place my insolence<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My
inability</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
To
conform <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Allows <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Leaving
is always better<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Than
being left<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Bitter
jilted <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Gypsy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Who
love left behind who love forgot<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Forgot <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
How
hard it was <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
To
pry you heart <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Out
of someone else's <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Hands
as they hold on for <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dear
life<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
They
don't know they are killing you <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Their
love is strangling <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Your
life <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The
more you wrestle <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The
tighter they get <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
There
are pieces that remain <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In
their hands <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Permanent
ink on palms <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Until we say words <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Like
I need a whole heart<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Whole <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: auto;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-60934359669566864952012-12-21T10:48:00.002-08:002012-12-21T10:48:34.437-08:00scared<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A pulling downward</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some kind of force</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bigger than I’m willing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To say</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My voice may crack </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I cannot be trusted </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the sound</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of my own name</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My own gifts</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They choke</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a throat </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That needs </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Water</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am parched</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dry </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unwilling </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Scared</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stubborn</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I fight the love</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
rest in the fear</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Run fast</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And remain aloof</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I dare you to chase me </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I dare you to not</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is not easy way </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To win</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To clear answers</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nothing to do </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But let me wander</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back to you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of us did not die</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the war</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of us</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Escaped</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Went into ourselves</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recoiled</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And shape shifted to fit </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In corners</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our bones bent forever </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To fit tight spaces</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of us fought bravely </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lost limbs in a war our own</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of us </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just drift downward</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We become quack mire</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sinking sand</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some just are scared</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some just are scared</div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-36015523944351165812012-12-18T13:38:00.002-08:002012-12-18T13:38:45.632-08:00firewall <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Firewall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are some fire walls</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ones built up</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With strong materials</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fortified</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And tested</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By lovers like you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are some fire walls</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ones that</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Come from not having </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A mother</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not knowing where you </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Belong</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are just another regret</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I said the last time </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Was the last time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That.. that time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Was the worse time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I took a vow</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of loving myself first</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And build the fire wall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It won’t be penetrated </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By persistence</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or good conversation</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It won’t be knocked down</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By compliments</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s strong </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tough like </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I build a firewall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve taken to many </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hits</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To not be careful</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can’t afford </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To be careless with my tender </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heart </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I built a firewall </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And by cover of night</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I secretly wish you would </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knock it down </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that you would extinguish </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
any trace of resistance</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
any hint of doubt </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that the firewall </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
would become</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
our love fireproofed </div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-21558286643027208432012-12-17T11:05:00.001-08:002012-12-17T11:07:08.916-08:00its raining in Anacostia<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s raining in
Anacostia <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All the street corner
prophets on<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The block of<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Good Hope Road<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Have traded sermons
and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Daps<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For umbrellas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And quick steps<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No one wants to get
caught in the rain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have seen too much
of it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So we scurry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Off to places unknown<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cuss metro buses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A8 and W6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Slower<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On streets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lines with potholes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promises<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And sleek from the
wetness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of it all<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tears blend into rain
drops<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maybe it’s raining<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rain knows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We can’t be insular<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Isolated<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bound by unspoken
lines<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And rivers forever<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is development
going up<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">St. Elizabeth’s East<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And housing prices
rising<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the horizon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s raining in
Anacostia<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Quiet today<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Solemn for is<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What has been?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And what is
coming <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-54668281505391052862012-12-10T13:31:00.004-08:002012-12-10T13:31:55.690-08:00quicksteps <br />
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div id=":1fs">
Don't ever be so sure of your steps<br />Your forget falling<br />I can't tell you how many times<br />I've tripped<br />Over familiar paths<br />I consider myself sure footed<br />Able to navigate<br />Look down occasionally<br />But for the most part look ahead<br />Backwards sometimes<br />To fortify myself<br />To remember<br />But often times<br />It makes me quicken the pace<br />there is somethings there<br />i would rather forget<br />i end up running<br />fast without any idea<br />of why<br />i am going<br />so full speed ahead into the unknown<br />i think i like<br />the challenge<br />the undoableness<br />of it all<br />it beckons me<br />so i quickstep<br />in love<br />into work<br />into life </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div id=":1fs">
never looking </div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">down</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div id=":1fs">
for landmines<br />cliffs<br />that are unexpected<br />hurdles my legs are<br />not yet strong enough to jump<br />how often<br />i have not been careful<br />my mother would call me clumsy<br />half hazard</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div id=":1fs">
<br />i just like the rush of rushing<br />in my youth<br />my body<br />my mind<br />my heart was able to recover faster<br />from missteps<br />and mistakes<br />i am learning in<br />maturity<br />to be cautious<br />still adventurous<br />still free<br />still willing<br />just wise<br />to the lessons<br />learned from falling<br />hard<br />and not having<br />anyone to tell me slow down<br />so im telling you </div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div id=":1fs">
Don't ever be so sure of your steps<br />Your forget falling<br />I can't tell you how many times<br />I've tripped</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<div>
Over familiar paths</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562018246279117951.post-13301712379425055172012-12-07T12:30:00.000-08:002012-12-07T12:30:12.406-08:00A long ride <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a long bus </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Riding up 16<sup>th</sup> street tonight</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One small victory </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the working poor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a Wednesday in December</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With biting wind </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the patience of Job</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes I am excited that</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The restaurant workers</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And office cleaners</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The security guard</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And nurse aides</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Get a seat on the bus tonight</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of the people who get on</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tonight </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At 11:18 PM will ride a while?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bus lurching</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slower because it’s bigger</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But still there is room for us all</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most weekends </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are well dressed white people</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who take the s4 or s2 </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Quick stops </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With bags of wine</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or pizza from whole foods</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The weather is usually better than</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On nights like tonight</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it’s cold</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a sea </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of brown and black faces</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only goal is to get home</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weary from waiting on buses </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weary from waiting on people</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Weary </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The metro doesn’t care what your job is</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They keep raising fares</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the article in the post about workers and commute </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And buses that are to full </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Has made it impossible to ignore the need</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a long bus </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Up 16<sup>th</sup> street tonight </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope it remains</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That way</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A memorial </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To blood sweat tears</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A reminder </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That we are</div>
Nanewanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16863821236966705066noreply@blogger.com0