A poem a day for 2015 - day 59 - Beauty

These gray clouds above
Whisper lovingly to me
'Bout clear blue beyond

Lady Basco at The World Stage

A poem a day for 2015 - day 58 - Breathe

Self care on cold nights
No apologies for love
My arms wrapped 'round me

A poem a day for 2015 - day 57 - Today

Thank you for being
a friend. For making me laugh,
for showing me new.

Kiyatana Sapp, me, A Kold Piece

A poem a day for 2015 - day 56 - Hush

The stillness of now
Opportunity for calm
For prayer and wonder

A poem a day for 2015 - day 55 - For you

Wanted to get to
know me? Sneaking my journals
was not the right way

Gina Loring wrote this haiku for me!

She speaks in God's tongue. 
Lifts up heavy hearts like prayers.
Easy like laughter.

Gratitude

I am thankful for waking up this morning
Listening to the wind
Letting my concerns blow away
I am thankful for my son
For my family and friends
I am thankful for ease
For being in be
Even for these flu symptoms
I am thankful for tea
For work to do
Still
I am thankful for love
For peace and gratitude
I am thankful

A poem a day for 2015 - day 54 - Hmm

Sometimes I wonder
Am I making a change or
Just running my mouth

A poem a day for 2015 - day 53 - Exhale

Abundance surrounds
Let happiness fall on me
Send it round to you

A poem a day for 2015 - day 52 - Black like me

I am proud of my black
My biscuits and jelly
My gravy and rice
Of my head high as I traverse through murky streets

I'm about black life

I am proud of my hands
Way they hold babies
Assist old ladies and men
Way they lift the fallen shoulders
Of my friends
Way they reach for help
When my own stories are too heavy

This is my black
Mine
I am honored I was reared a black girl
Skilled at hopscotch, double Dutch
Swinging ponytails and the boogaloo

Can you dance through pain so sting
Your blood stops flowing
Can you sing the blues
Do you know the dead like I do
Can you hear them whisper as they
Hold your head
And guide your path

Do you know Harriet and Sojourner
And women from my church

Do you know Obatala and Osun
And the elders that I know

I am proud of my black
Of my people around the world
Of the dancers and architects
The healers and barbours
The teachers and singers and artists

Sun people
Land people
Earth
Dirt people
Clay people
Like me

This is my black
Mine
These are my feet
Carry me through hate and fire
To redemption and love

My knees unbuckled through
Bigotry and dogs
Jim Crow and bullets
Trees and rape

My thighs
My back
My neck broken and rebuilt
Ready for dance and war and win

My belly
Birthed all these babies
Bleed over all this land

My palms held high in praise

This is my skin
Like rock
Like ocean

I am proud of my back
My soul
My hair
My fingers
Placed together in prayer

A poem a day for 2015 - day 51 - Smile

And laughter matters
Like air, like breathing and space
Bottle me giggles

Strength

Preach!

Gratitude

I am thankful for this day
For waking up to its beauty
I am thankful for love and peace
I am thankful for my son
My beautiful son
Who is not mine but his
But God's
I am thankful for him
For his safety
His sanity
His food and shelter
I am thankful for kindness
For good in the world
I am thankful for friends
For friends who make me laugh
For good company
I am thankful for breath
For deep inhales and empty exhales
I am thankful for being thankful
I am thankful for work
For art for words for joy
For joy
I am thankful for joy

A poem a day for 2015 - day 50 - Open

I will speak against
Hatred and hunger and war
Often as I can

A poem a day for 2015 - day 49 - Baby you

What is going through
your mind? All this suffering
and woe. Too young now.

A poem a day for 2015 - day 48 - Heart you

We friend together
Bond over art, words, laughter
The blessing is mine

Sage

Us

A poem a day for 2015 - day 47- Light

Focus on rose in
the world. There is sky above
my head and throughout.

Damon Turner and Uraeus

I was so happy to finally introduce my son, Uraeus to my "little brother" Damon today!

Boss

WomanPreach

My love

A poem a day for 2015 - day 46 - Inglewood

Inglewood
212 Metro bus
Forum
Lakers
Vibrations
Blue sky
Gangs
Klan
Hair
Lashes
Sandals

I saw Whitney Houston at the Forum
With Winston and his parents
Whatever happened to Winston

Writing workshops
Red Stories
Soup
Socks has love soup
Incense and wine
Love
Friends
Birthdays
Music
Big Arch
Rapping and jazz
Books and food
Paint

What I remember
Favorite things I recall
This town
This brake you shake you town

Beauty
Manchester
I used to walk down Manchester to the Forum
When I lived on 87th
87th
87th Street was a lifetime ago
I was with him and then him
I miss him
I never want to see him again
These are a few of my favorite things

Three
Three
Three is my favorite number
Favorite should have more syllables than three

Inglewood
Inglehood
Brothas up to some kinda good
Sistas wanting some kinda love

James held my hand on the bus stop
We were strangers
He wouldn't let me go
He thought we should go out
Because both of our names begin with J
It was awkward
Inglewood is awkward
In ways I would have
Any other ways
And in some ways I would

Ghetto bird flying
Cop cars racing
Even this evening
Three cop cars passed me
On my way here tonight
Inglewood
Inglewood
Inglewood should have more syllables
As much drama it has to offer

The Holiness or Hell church cross from the park
Jack in the Box and bakery and Wingstop nearby
Inglewood

These are my people
My boys walking to school
My girls toting backpacks
These are my people
The ambulance going by now
For my people
They are all my people

You're my people too
Yes you're my people too
Brown people and black
White folks and red
Inglewood
Inglewood
Theatres and Fatburgers
And love
All this love
All around
Me

Pink

Mama's Kitchen

A poem a day for 2015 - day 45 - Because

I love you easy
From mountain to valley low
We water and air

A poem a day for 2015 - day 44 - Art therapy

I paint because most days it is the best therapy for me
It is like prayer and a hot bath with lavender salt scents
Colors are voices
The movement of my hands are blessed ancestral rituals
This is good for me
Early morning
Late at night
This is what I need

Sold

A poem a day for 2015 - day 43 - For you

Mountains of thanks to
you for the blessings you give
Angel in my life

Rope game

Through dust

Butterfly kite

For my A poem a day for 2015 project I have been posting mostly haikus. That wasn't the plan but I love it nonetheless.

A poem a day for 2015 - day 42 - Red Stories

Red Stories Sunday
A Kold Piece is the feature
I hope to see you

My son is graduating in May and I am going to be the happiest mother in the world watching him walk across the stage.

A poem a day for 2015 - day 41 - For V Kali

Stay ready for love
She revolution at best
Mothering the earth

Grown

Hopscotch

Beauty

A poem a day for 2015 - day 40 - New

The sun comes up on
this new day for us to brave
forgiveness and love

Cole and Angie (working title)

“You want pizza or Chinese or you cookin’?” Cole asked Angie as she sat on the living room couch staring out the window. He had his hand on the door with his coat already on.

“It don’t matter.”

“Well what you want for your birthday, do that don’t matter too?”

“I want some of those big bumble bee sunglass they got at the Chevron on the corner.” She said and then turned her face to him.

Cole didn’t know if she was taunting him again or not. She couldn’t have been. She knew better, he thought. “You already got sunglasses. Got plenty sunglasses.”

“Can’t wear those. They don’t fit.” Angie replied shortly.

“How glasses don’t fit?” Cole snapped and took his hand off the door and started moving slowly toward her. She remained quiet. Maybe it was too soon, she thought. She kept her eyes on his hands as he approached. She counted his steps. Counting always slowed her mind. She had counted his blinks, snore patterns, times in an hour he said fuck, how and how many times he said pussy when he had sex on her. Now she counted steps. By ten he was at her face lifting her chin with his forefinger and thumb.

“We goin’ over to your mama’s house today for Trina party right?”

“Color frames you want?”

“Not black.” 

Gratitude

I am thankful for a state of gratitude
I am thankful for this day
This blessed day
For my son
For my family and friends
I am thankful for early morning painting
For paintings sold
For students to teach today
I am thankful for love and ease
For a good rest last night
I am thankful for grace and forgiveness and blessings
So thankful for blessings

A poem a day for 2015 - day 39 - Free

It's not that I didn't know how to love
I was just busy proving I wasn't a victim
I was occupied with my self righteousness
My will and my won't
It became exhausting
So...
I let it go

A poem a day for 2015 - for day 38 - Trouble

Murder suicide
Bless this earthquake of a world
Is there light at day

A poem a day for 2015 - for day 37 - Sky

I am thankful for

safe travels on horizon 
New York destiny

(I couldn't get on my blog while I was gone so I posted my poems for two days on Facebook.)

Gratitude

I am thankful for waking up this morning in New York
I am thankful for being in Los Angeles tonight
I am thankful for love and love all around me
For my son
My beautiful son, I am thankful
I am thankful for his safety and humor and light
I am thankful for my friends and family
I am thankful for strangers who are blessings
For the show tonight with friends poetry lovers
I am thankful for my health and strength
For peace and grace
I am thankful for understanding and easy
For safety and food and shelter
I am thankful

Gina Loring, me, Sunni Patterson at V-Day - New York

Me, Amazaiah, Sunni Patterson, Rosie O'Donnel, Gina Loring

Going

A poem a day for 2015 - day 36 - Tonight

Look at the moon how
Fat she follow. Her sultry
Luster shows me way

Gratitude

I am thankful for this day
For my health and strength
I am thankful for my son
For his laughter and love
For my family and friends
For seeing old friends and new
For friend and dinner and smiles
For peace in my life
For easy
I am thankful for easy
For food and shelter
For packing to go on a trip
I am thankful for trips
I am thankful for poetry
For my art that gifts me travel and blessed experiences
I am thankful for being thankful

Travel

A poem a day for 2015 - day 35 - Survive

We wait
Necessary and needles
To live without
Struggle

Agian

I have so much to do but my brain and body are telling me to take a nap (again) before I get to them. So I'm doing that (again).

Gratitude

I am thankful for being thankful
For waking up easily on this day
This beautiful day
I am thankful for my son
For the flesh and spirits who guide his way
For his friends and teachers
I am thankful for my friends and family
For my health and safety
I am thankful for work
For good days
For art and poetry
For energy and passion
I am thankful for stories
For food and shelter
For love all around

A poem a day for 2015 - day 34 - Dear Uraeus

When night falls
And you are home
I am desert breeze
My inhale is deeper
My smile is ready
It is not the design
For mamas to be so
Shake

Community

My art

Mother and child

Gratitude

I am thankful for being thankful
For my health
For shelter and food
For my son
I am so thankful for my son
For his safety and laughter
His intelligence and love
I am thankful
I am thankful for waking up this morning
For my friends and family
For work to do and meetings to attend
I am thankful for my life
This blessed life

A poem a day for 2015 - day 33 - Love

Bound together by revolution
By love bigger than fists
Open as the African sky
Dance
Feel this blood run through arms
Hot as blue fire
He call me Fly
'Cause my mama name me Robin
See these wings so flutter through the trees
I call him Water
'Cause nothin' strong as he
Know all the ways I cry
Remember every turn in my sleep
We know war
We know white cops and black babies
We know fear
We know happy and history and hers
Home is my feet in his lap
His stories in my journals
We so share
So give
So remember
We so poem
Together

Mother and child

Gratitude

I am thankful for this day
For functioning limbs and smile
For food and shelter
For grace and forgiveness
I am thankful for a job to go to
For art and poetry and stories and words
I am thankful for vehicle and gas
I am thankful for love and
So much love
For kindness
For friends and family

Friends

Gratitude

I am thankful for spending this day with my son
For our conversations and connection
I am thankful for seeing this new day
For my family and friends
I am thankful for my home
For food
For comfort
I am thankful for being thankful
For a job to go to tomorrow
For a bed to sleep in tonight
I am thankful for time with friends
For laughter and easy
I am thankful

A poem a day for 2015 - day 32 - See you

Remember pink

You brought me pink flowers 

And I smiled 'cause they brightened my moment

Like recess 

Because you ain't a flowers guy

You said

You said you was pizza and family

You was blue and potatoes and 

A real man

You said you was a real man

Like muscles make you man

Like blue jeans make you raw

You said you was raised by your daddy

Like your mama wasn't there

I watched you sleep

You so boy when you sleep

You so noise and hum and baby

You so baby I'm for real

You make me sing

You make me sing songs I don't sing

I don't sing

I tell stories instead

Remember you listened to my stories

Remember your head in your palms

Your gasp at my tales

Remember you told me yours

Yours

Remember secrets you shared

I know now

You cannot untell me 

I remember

Pink

That day 

Those days

How man you are

How you never had to tell me

But you told me anyway

I remember 

Like forget is even possible

You a movie on rewind

When days don't go so well

I remember

Pink

Poet

Us