delirium

the stars
out of focus
the wind strolls through the leaves
the moon taking the long way home
your voice rains from the clouds
my shadow leans
forward

Aging prayer

Dear Lord,

I suppose I will understand these things
that come with largeness, once darkness and death
offer to me freedom from my drying skin.
I'm not in danger (I do not believe)
of losing my reserved room in your mansion.
If you remember, I did not question
your will, when I almost died giving birth.
Nor when that arson burned my house to the ground.
Nor when GMAC repossessed my car
when I did not owe them a single cent.
No, Lord. I did not even question why
I was 28 with a dead husband.
I hope and pray, my name is written in your book.
I have asked for little but thanked for much.
But now I need to ask for a favor.
Lord, can you please tell me where my keys are?

Amen

"God has a sense of humor after all HE made me"

thank you for the gift of a beautiful black man

praise the Lord for the

gift of you
arriving on this most glorious day
the guardians of legacy and love
awaiting birth side
to shake your father's hand
to kiss your mother's face
how graceful the garden grows
the sun a reason to rise
your beautiful spirit visible
and so very much alive

thankful

if i never write another word
thank you Lord for the gift
of added syllables
to convey and share
the love in me you bestowed

Father,
thank you for the love
only you can give

Killin' Again

Outlined in chalk another drama unfolds
It ain't a whodunit I'm tagging them toes
911 can't resuscitate fear ~
I'm killin' again...
you hear

Slaying punk dragons with the mighty pen
Dissecting the strong man's next of kin
Writing death's obituary in the end
I'm furious man...

I'm
killin' again

Burn baby burn your ass been served
It's high time the devil learned
bullshit gets fed to the worms
when evil offends
I'm killin' again

Life insurance icy cold
Pit of Hell service road
American justice
hyperbole


I'm telling you friend
I'm killin' again...

lessons passed down

daughters some will tell you you are not
cut from expensive fabric
that your bodies are not holy vessels
to be worshiped and revered
that your hips cannot mold
clay to perfection

then they will come soliciting
without dowry
the magic of your womb
to perform illusions
for the decadence of their clan

they will hold you close
and speak of love
in a low volume
that will try to break through your skin

it is at these times
i need you to remember
the wisdom passed to you
through my milk

be as the strongest branch
bend do not break

not every man is worthy

Heart Beat

Girlfriend, 


You alone... 


Don't put your bliss on hold


God wants us to be loved 


Completly I suppose


In the doldrums mode


Don't crimp them pantyhose 


Let a brother know


Love is good as gold


Forget those fretful woes


We suffer growing old


Our hearts beat on the one


Committed finding love

homesick too

homesick
for a home unknown
are the stars the same there
would feeling orphaned disappear
would the wind speak my name
please ancestors
tell me

haiku

pitch your words here love
were the rain cannot touch them
my voice holding yours

haiku

we find our rhythm
moon low in the bonsai tree
the moonlight turned down

smooth is smooth

whew smooth
sure is something
leaning into his stride
owning the sidewalk and my smile
bling all in them brown eyes
deep dark warm skin
thick lips

head up
posture perfect
clean shaven smelling good
brass voice saying, "hi, how are you?"
holding tight to what's dear
his daughter and
wife's hand

You Beget Blue

Old school fool

downpessor dude

Funky host druthers

depression clues

Along for the ride

wild we drive

Completely

colorized

Blue,

you too?

Othello,

knew...

Hobbyhorse

truths

Breaking

bad news

Moody blue

moods

Threatening

hues

Thundering

skies

Bluesy

inside

Atmosphere

wise

Flying ~

sky high

The bluest sky

you do

SHINE

Hustling to the man's delight

straight-up city jungle life

run and gun like a kite ~

keep God's Light

shining bright

Kings and queens of Africa

children want to self-destruct

Ghetto child running wild

do or die overtime

Getting high

blow your mind

half lived lives

die on the vine

a note to a beautiful black man

 and yet

there is still this...

somewhere there is a place

a place that will allow me to rest

in your true beauty. a place

where to be a black woman

full of love and hope and splendor for you 

is as common as salt water in the sea

is as wanted as the touch of your hands

is as necessary as the air inflating my lungs

true, there must be a place 

a place where i can stand beside you

full of admiration for your humanity

full of dedication to your manhood

full of appreciation for your consciousness

for it is in this place

that i will greet your tolerance with tolerance 

match your respect with respect

praise your honor with honor

uplift your kindness with kindness

yes, it is within this place of harmony

that i humbly thank you for loving me

the way a beautiful black man loves 

butterfly

close your eyes butterfly
coil my vibe in your wings
fly my groove high let my
shape contour to the sky
let the moon soak me in
night queen oil on my skin


two shades darker i soar
bareback on butterfly
the stars riding my hips
my moves punching through clouds
moonbeams tonguing their light
on my african sway


paradise is the sky
fly me to a fountain
pitch a coin from your wing
make a wish butterfly
now fly higher higher
yes your colors so bright


mesmerized in our flight
open eyes butterfly
breaking through my cocoon
i will fan my own wings
then take flight beside you
beautiful towards the moon

We're Hanging Lightly

No!

Rolls Royce,

you're not my choice

I weighed in happy

once we divorced

yes, of course

I give to you

everything

coming

do

gentlemen

home boyz

Mr. man

decoy ~

girlfriend

sister queen

prettiest eyes

mine have seen

I ain't lying

no use trying...

when can I

see you again?

Featured Artist: Ivory V. Ball

~ A Somber Moment

The sky thus filled with tales of gloom

Fabled myths both night and noon

And, though, there spent a misty swirl

My mind did rest atop my world

And in that somber moment’s mood

I sat

I thought

I dreamt of you

The day was draped in “dark and dreary”

A winter’s gray at midday’s weary

And in that somber, meandering moment

I gathered my thoughts that some might merge with

The innocent spirit of one so near

Connected, deeply, to one held dear

The tides were lapping down below

Thundering waves rushed to and fro

But in that moment’s graceful pull

A peaceful quiet…a tide-less lull

I sat upon that restful stage

Internal wars, my soul did wage

That when my battles come to cease

Serenity rules my world of peace

That all might see a Shepard’s hold

Allow my peaceful world’s unfold

I stand before thee…reckless bent

Not dignified…but drama spent

Deprived of all I’ve ever craved

Save for breath…and, so for, days

Eternity, it seems, did I await

For midnight screams to fade away

Coz through those tears a part of me

Gave birth to death that life might be

You will find a bio and more of Mr. Ball's work on the Featured Artist page.

eintou: convicted

between
shadows i watch
the ancestors kneeling
beside the graves of our children
hands reaching through the soil
eyes staring straight
at us

***********

they wail
watching their blood
seep into the gutter
with the sewer water, staring
at us, knowing children
are our only
treasure

Come Music Man

there have been lots of invitations
for you to become a part of my jazz
to allow your saxophone to bellow
its smoky notes under my bridge
where wild scents and graffiti art live

come stroke your piano keys
in the center of my music
where my alto sound sings out
to your tenor tenderness

let me be the country inside your blues
for i am a single melancholy song
an imperfect chord strum on a bass guitar
searching for the rugged hands of a god 

remedial

Sweet,

mortal life

odyssey

reciprocity

hate

the state you're in

loosed life lustre ~

poetry of lessor gods

life

energy

bastards

threatened yet again

Haiku

inside my own voice
wild trails and dangerous cliffs
still it sings so sweet

Haiku

my ear to the ground
his footsteps on a pine cone
almost near my touch

Snow Globe

placed his heartbeat
inside my heart's palm

picturesque inside
my crystal soul

turned it upside down
then right side up again

just to feel his love
inside me snow

Tender Mercy

If I have to die

welcome me home

We're hardly living

leave us alone

Such tender mercy

egg on your face

Look how we livin'

wasting

away ~

Lord Let My Light Shine

Lord Let My Light Shine
********************
In spite of deadlines
Heaven knows
You've been
through

some things

A robust wine
GOD is Love
In the wings
bringing
GIFTS
again

Lord,
Let my light shine
Heaven knows
Trumpets
Blow

Groove with
Me ~

Haiku

jeweled in black skin
head held high posture gorgeous
gliding like water

Visiting

walking alongside the shore
seashell to my left ear
a voice spoke in ancestral rhythms

"sit before the sea and wash both your feet"

gathered in my right hand the tail of my red/black
&green bellowing skirt, flung it towards the wind
watched it fly then settle by my side again
then sat down where the edge of the salty wash
and the first breath of land meet. washed my feet.

"now lay down. a piece of driftwood will float by"
"it will pierce you in your right side"
"let your blood flow with the sea"

my own bones began to break and rattle
and my voice to wail and moan
in unfamiliar tones i had not heard before
but knew were all mine

it was then i remembered
the waves rushing over me were
watering hallowed ground

Sometimes I Forget

because the world is full of kryptonite
that tries to zap you of all your strength
sometimes i forget you are not a superhero
who is invincible with an S branded on your chest


sometimes i forget you have heart wounds too
and need me to be that unselfish woman
who builds within her love a safe haven for your heart
where it cannot be harmed by the pollutants in the air
so that it can heal clean and then breeze free


sometimes i forget all you want to do is
come lay your head on my breasts
close your eyes and think of absolutely nothing
while i toy with your ear and stroke your back
without me uttering a single word


sometimes i forget you just need me to be sexy
allowing your body and mind to drink from the softness of my skin


yes, sometimes i forget all you want and need
is to be assured you are cherished and loved

A Note To Ms Clifton

if there be a history for salt
in a black woman's vibrations

and there be a gathering of poet tribes
to carry a female name across water

and if there be an anthem to hum
for the making of old bones

and there be a single root ribboning
through dahomey soil towards my daughter's hands

i say lucille if there be a truth
this be the time for you. you. you.

and your twelve fingers

Reading You

up at 2am holding on to your love poems
feeling your right index finger slipping around my heart
pulling it forward, allowing my love to flow easy
as your words of passion melt on the roof of my mouth

your gentle deep and manly verse
lingers at the edge of my breath
its tenderness inking haiku in calligraphy
up and down my spine

"Through and through
by way of love"
I will remain true, keeping only
only your words close to my heart
until you can get here

Early Morning Rise

laying here filling my heart
with the tiny things about you i adore
your words tracing their fingers
along the curves of my silhouette
moonlight kissing me sweetly
on the back of my neck

your sensuality rewriting the way my body aches
my flesh longing for your fingertips to listen
to the parts of me no other man may whisper to
your heart speaking to my heart
in multiple languages and dialects
each syllable begging my skin for the heat in me

the thought of living forever within your love
extends the entire length of my desire
as i wait patiently for the day
when i can hold you in my arms
my precious moon watching over us
as i welcome you to love everlasting

Homesick

pour me
across ancient
african soil like wine
spilled from an ethiopian
chalice

I AM BEAUTIFUL

without confirmation or affirmation
this is a declaration

I. AM. A. BEAUTIFUL. BLACK. WOMAN!

my mind, beautiful
my heart, beautiful
my soul, beautiful
my face, beautiful
my smile, beautiful
my eyes, beautiful
my body, beautiful
my deep dark rich complexion, extra beautiful

the way i speak, beautiful
the way i listen, beautiful
the way i sway when i walk, beautiful
the way i carry myself, beautiful
the way i rise everyday and go to work, beautiful
come home and pay my own bills, beautiful

loving my family, beautiful
loving my friends, beautiful
helping everyone i can, beautiful
loving my people, beautiful
loving you, beautiful
loving me, beautiful

I am beautiful!
All in my own mind.

I'm Feeling You, Jill

woke up this morning
with a smile on my face
he served me breakfast

swam like a black cayman
the length of the moruca river

ran like a jaguar
the lone road into santa rosa

snaked like an anaconda
through the rain forest

flew like a harpy
to the top of a tropical palm

wiped images of me across his brow
then plucked the perfect coconut

chartered a plane to tanzania
squeezed the flesh of ten papaya
until they gave up juice

cooled by the well
on a bed of fig leaves

rushed back on the concorde
to top my cinnamon bun
with homemade ambrosia
fresh from a jelly jar

fingered a love poem in my grits
smoothed wrinkled blues from my sheets
rubbed my aching feet with african peach
swept misery's dust from my walls
clapped his hands
made the sun rise

to warm my skin
drew my bath water
then dropped salt stones
from the caribbean in

and girl
it aint even
6 o'clock yet
ha!