i.
we love hard enough
but sometimes it hurts like this
when you are away

ii.
two years hitched at hip
trying to make sense of this
thing called loyalty

iii.
a peculiar thing
to go at it alone but
still we rise above

~~~~
saturday made two years and we had the opportunity to share our day live and in color (!). despite the cold (freezing, freezing cold) our hearts, and spirits, and resolve were warmed tremendously. black love is still alive and kickin, even when stretched between two coasts.

peace

i am a sucker for love stories
lush
complicated
delicious
stories that speak
to every inch of
i and i

on wednesday, i perused
the bookstore searching
for something to inspire
a depressed student

instead i stumbed upon
Kwame Dawes' magnificant pen

you see, i am drawn
to love stories
set afire in the belly
of the caribbean
full up wit history
and black bodies lovin
themselves and tryin
to make it
in spite of
themselves

last night
i stayed up till 4am
wrapped up in
Keshia and Kofi's complications
their arguments, their lovemaking
wishing
beloved was here to
share it

[hello all. no, this is not a commercial lol...it's just an offering inspired by a great book. buy it! Akashic Books ]

beloved's voice came
clear cross rivers
and cities and lakes
and projects and concrete
and razor wire

greeting me
slick and soft like
he was tryin to
win me over
again

i was open

savoring
each word
as if it were my last meal
on earth

dear beloved,

wrapping my head
around you is like
listening to coltrane
be bop in the rain

today
we converse staccato
breaking words like beats
between lips and tongue

 miss
      you
wish
      you
were
      in
me
      now

i love it when
you sound so vulgar
rolling my name
between your palms
wet      lips parting
to speak
hello

Lunchtime Musings

I am here
trapped beneath
a seemingly endless mountain
of ungraded words

trying my best
to play catch up
while catching them
up to where they should be

teaching is a struggle

love and long hours
overdue props
nerves shot to hell
definitely worth
the smile
you get
when they understand
whatimsayin

wha gwan, star?



i love my man like
cook food
like star apple
mango leaves passion
fruit cool like
breeze over mountains dem

beloved speaks
to every piece of
i and i and we
will make it
cuz love is
stronger
than
this


[ i got inspired by xavier and his blog. i couldn't help but vibe off his poetry. thanks for the inspiration.]

love poem # 22

I
there are some
poems made just
for you       wrapped in fresh
banana leaves tasting of sugar

at midnight my tongue
wanders the earth        searching
for your fingers and mouth
and i come        up empty

II
time is not on our side
it strangles words        catching
in my throat        causalities
of the space between us

III
i love
         you hard
brave and beautiful you
are an indian summer       burning
up my thighs

~*~
i haven't written this much since i finished my thesis last year. my muse has returned in the form of memories of my beloved. i would much rather see him than write poems, but this is the only way to touch him right now. i hope he feels me.

be blessed

pieces of this poem came to me as i was visiting my beloved, but as with most things i write, i didn't actually put pen to paper until much later. i'm going to send this to my beloved tomorrow. perhaps it will help someone., speak to someone, or maybe it is your story. i am composing another poem (it's in pieces inside my head) about my visits to Rikers.

every since talking to my friend, i am seriously thinking about what i can do with this blog. sure, it's good to write out/sweat out/cry out all of your emotions. there is something so gratifying about coming here & writing. it is confession. i feel reborn & powerful. but there are so many like me, with lovers, fathers, sons, wives, daughters, friends behind the wall. and so many times we are afraid to speak up and say just how much we love. how hard we love. we are sometimes afraid because people may view us or view our loved one a little differently if they knew. well, i am opening this space up to everyone. at least for now. share your thoughts & stories. please comment. you are not alone. you are loved. and it is ok to love the ones you do, in the manner in which you do. peace.

~~****~~~~
Visitation