The Love Poem

Penciled thin like the margin of a vein 

To my heart —he speaks.

His words, my last refrain

As I die in the interlude of his shrieks

Healing After Heartache

During the past year, i have had four friends / family members who have had suffered heartbreak. The culprit? Men who just do not give a damn. I, however, have a strong sense of justice in words because the language we speak can be very powerful; words carry more weight than anything we can do to "fight back". I have always looked to words as a blueprint for healing. I suggested reading and writing to those hurting. Some prefer music and fine wine.

If i could create a language for healing after heartache, it would transpose a voice of strength, integrity and good humour. It would unveil the vein of truth that pumps a lifeline of emotion to that shielded organ we call "heart". It would clarify for us what we really feel, want and don't give a shit about. It would convey the will to rise above and beyond human folly and flaw--that which make us, at once, both human and monster. It would sound like...

It's okay, i get it. I like the absence; it's a nice dose of reality. Reality beats me into becoming a woman. A strong woman; a woman who understands what it really feels like to be low and out, but who is also able to learn, grow and live freely.

The way i "do things" is:

I care for people; i am sympathetic towards others and i feel other people's pain. I wear my heart on my sleeve, not because i want to, but because i am real. I am a real person. I am nobody's fool; i am witty. I am kind. I have a lot going for me. If you are real i can deal with you. What do i value the most? Honesty.

I am glad that i have made you a better person (assuming you no longer burn rice and you take your health seriously). You have made me a better person as well; in so many ways, i am wiser and stronger. My family means the world to me. My family is my world. I can be your friend. The challenge is yours to take.

Reflections

The most benign gift we have is the gift of love. It is an emotion that breathes life into our soul. We are nothing without it. Each day, my daughter reminds me of the importance of love. She cuddles up to me, like any child would, when she feels tired, sad, disappointed or frustrated. If i do not place my arms around her and pull her real close to my bosom, she takes my hands and try to make them hug her, protect her, calm her, love her. We have "Bammy" moments when we kiss each other slowly on both cheeks, then, "faster". We bond through laughter and mutual love exchange.

I make these moments a daily ritual, a routine we share. At times, in my own deep thoughts, i reflect on this single small emotion. I am inspired by its greatness. I think about the coldness and hardness of the winter months; constantly, it reminds me of the coldness and hardness of the world. I ask myself, what is it that makes us survive? Because, really, we are not meant to survive. I could die if i should stumble and fall on the ice when nobody is looking. The answer came quickly. It is the relationship we maintain with others; it is the love we share with each other that keeps us breathing everyday, expecting nothing in return. The greatness of love is in its capacity to heal, nourish, nurture and sustain us.

I am profoundly grateful to have been blessed so graciously with the gift of love. And i am thankful that i am able to "give it" freely and abundantly to the people in my world. It is a spiritual booster to know that we are loved. An unadulterated flicker of hope, joy and peace that keeps us burning brightly long after initial encounters have subsided. I love you.

Ride With Me

Ride with me on "the midnight train"
my love, smite the wicked rain
that soils my silent body
claiming the shame
my eyes have feelings too

Like the Sable Queen, shipwrecked, lost
left to die, frost
shrivels the thin layered darkness
and quietly tames the screeching roar
of my heart against yours

Ride "the midnight train" with me
my love, unmelt the key
Won't you smite that wicked rain?
Take my hand and walk away
wash the silence that makes me sway.

Kisses on a Bridge, May 9th

First love, first kiss, first touch, first surrender,
first "always and forever"
She dreams of faraway places, next to him,--
her Prince.

He comes at night, carrying fresh roses
on the wind
she waits for him, always, in the bridge of a song
breathing love verses through sheets of rain,
and nighttime thunder.

She wants him to take her,
over mountain tops and shallow rivers,
over potholes and broken tracks
never slowing,--
children of the poor can love each other.

But,

She is a dreamer; so is he.
So he takes his love where it can be guarded.
Away from careless youth and hunger;
away from sinful desires and naive splendor.

Does he cry, always, for a memory?

Valentine's Night

Lovers lock lips
Beneath the starlight
Between armed wintry bliss
Burning bright in stolen firelight
with
Splintered rose-buds, caravan kisses.
Chicled desires sounding strange, consent
Liquid love melting stern caresses.
The Night praises, a hidden moment
Leaping fences--
It's the time for love, love, loving!

Checkered rainbow cross backs and faces
as
Lovers bend and bow to nonstop tempo
Come closer, hear the mellow secrets stolen?
The Night, Time for love.

2 face - African Queen

Sometimes we, black women in all shades, shapes and sizes, forget just how beautiful we are; we want to change our hair, skin colour, body--
we don't need to.

You are a queen and there is no need to change Y O U. Love yourself--love your hips, your lips, your nose, your toes-- you are special.

Silver Moon

She hails the saccharine--
scented intimacy
of his quivering flesh,
rising.
Savours,
mingles, with the primrose
of his kiss (chiffon affair),
oh, that kiss--
like a thousand snowflakes
on a burning blade!

Red, always red hue
or blue, or yellowish blue
sheer pad of desire
like brewed chocolate
through hungry fingers
abated, and flowing--
she rides, the floating
shadows, alone.

Ten Things and a Poem

Here are ten things you didn't know about me...

1. i have been to the Cayman Islands
2. i received 100% on my citizenship test
3. i make my best decisions in the shower
4. i don't care for flowers
5. i don't gamble
6. i bite my nails
7. i dream a lot
8. i can't swim
9. i 'm faithful
10. i like diamonds

Accursed Romance

As a girl, she'd met him.
He took her, tempestuously
raped her, made her want him
she hated him.
He saved her, ruined her
she opened, like a jasmine
to his promises, kisses
playing for keeps, she couldn't.
He was her secret,
her "little white lie",
her escape, her jewel
her confidante.
They played chess, naked
with words, without language
he touched her, she cried
in pain, in ecstasy, in hope
that nothing was lost
between the sheets
of her heart, feign.

The "L" Word

"If two people love each other, there can be no happy end to it." - Ernest Hemingway

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden where the flowers are dead." -Oscar Wilde

Amidst all that is happening around us
i desire to think about love tonight
about how love makes us human,
both vulnerable and strong
about how love hardly negotiates
or compromise.
To love, and be loved
is such an amazing thing
it gives you stability, eases your pain
but it also makes you ache inside.
When you experience love,
it's like floating through air
with the clouds cushioning you
and drying away your tears.
Ain't nothing like love,
ain't nothing like the smooth,
sensual movement of love over your body.
its touch, its stroke, its rhythmic flow
through your brain.
Ain't nothing like love
it's like sunshine peeking through a storm,
it's a surprise and call for truce.
It hits you hard, and leaves you breathless
Ain't nothing like love
It smells like the first day of April
and the and the last day of Christmas.
It never leaves you cold but feeling warm
and peaceful inside.
Love is to die for
love is for keeps,
but never, ever, wear your heart on your sleeve.
Love must be genuine, and it usually is
when it has matured.
Mature love is less magical but no less heavenly
if you take the time to show the person you care.
The meaning of love is in its temper,
if it's angry love you have to think it over.
if it's shy love just give it wings
if it's disguised in a smile or small gesture
give it life
if it's stubborn give it time
love never fails, though it surrenders
in the battle of love the soul is often the loser.
Take heed to love and remember, all is never fair in love.

Breathe...

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"