The Poetry Marathon

I woke up to the sound of the birds chirping outside my window

As the sun kissed my melanin skin

The warmth of the morning

Made me forget for a moment that racism didn’t exist

For a minute I felt the love of God

And I gave a genuine smile

Until I clicked on social media and the news

And I see another black person has been killed

And I begin to lose hope for the world

Our lives matter even if you don’t want to accept it

And no matter how you want things to stay the same

We will continue to reject it

Our voices will be heard…

…I just wish the world loved our brown skin like God does

I’ve watched you walking around lost

With tears in your eyes

And your soul drained from having to constantly fight

Your spirit spoke to me without words

And I felt the need to give you a hug

I felt that you needed to recharge

And I have some energy to spare

I want to give you some of my love

I want to show you that someone truly does care

I love to see someone become uplifted

It’s the most beautiful thing

To see someone who’s been in the dark

To see the light in their eyes again

These are always the type of vibes you should have for your friends

A down to earth girl

Crystal lover, positive

Universal soul

The year of 2020 was supposed to be a 20/20 vision
Everyone making plans of becoming great

Counting down the old year to bring in the new

No one knew this year was going to be so cruel

Fires taking the lives of billions of animals

A possible chance at going to war

Kobe lost his life alongside his daughter and seven others

A pandemic that would spread global

Police brutality at full force

Protesting, looting, rioting

Street painted with Black Lives Matter

Confederate statuses being torn down

No one knew that wearing a mask would become the new normal

Please stand 6 feet apart, practicing social distancing

This is the modern version of staying in your own personal bubble

Hundreds of thousands dying from unseen forces

Kids taken out of school; parents becoming homeschool teachers

Students wearing their caps and gowns so they can graduate from Zoom

Everyone in a panic, fighting over toilet paper…

…hand sanitizer bottles, empty shelves

The whole country under quarantine, locked down for weeks

This has been the strangest year thus far

This isn’t how everyone envisioned it to be

The government said it would all go away with the heat

Yet it’s summer and the numbers are still rising

I sit everyday trying to make sense of everything

But I can’t quite wrap my mind around all the shenanigans

All I can do is pray and talk to God

Trust His Word and believe that it will all eventually come to an end

COVID-19 won’t defeat me

Christ Over Viruses and Infectious Diseases

Joshua 1:9

It’s hard to trust others when I’ve told people about my past

Only for them to turn around and use it against me
They know what broke me
And in turn used it to continue to break me
They’ve seen the tears others caused me flowing down my face
And they had the nerve to hug me
Then laughed at me and told me I was overreacting
When they caused them
They knew what hurt me
And they said they would never do the same
But all they did was mirror the actions
And made things worse
I begged for the pain to stop
And they continued to dig the hold deeper
And the more I tried to climb out
They continued to throw in the dirt
Forgive me if I won’t let you get close to me
When I’ve already had people close shatter me
The ones who I was supposed to be able to rely on
Who left me confused in this world
I had to figure out on my own how to uplift myself
How to smile without feeling embarrassed
And how to love my own soul
Forgive if I don’t believe you when you say you’re different
Because that’s what they all say
Until they get you alone
And show you their true intentions
I know I have my guard up
I have never had anyone make me feel like I can put down my weapon
Nor have they made me feel protected
I always stand ready to take action
Maybe someday I will open up
Maybe someone will provide me with a safe haven
Instead of making me feel caved in
The more people play me, the longer it takes me to recoup
It’s going to take a lot if you want me to trust you
And forgive me for having you jump through so many hoops
But these become the consequences when you have trust issues

Hey my beautiful Queen!

Life hasn’t really been quite the same since you the day God called you home

I truly hope on your travels to the pearly gates you saw the beauty of the Universe

Were the stars as bright as I imaged?

Did your soul sail among the galaxies?

Did you run and jump into the arms of our Heavenly Father?

Were you reunited with your Earth father and mother?

Was Daddy waiting there to tell you that he loves you?

I know it was a beautiful family reunion with your sisters and brothers!

We are missing you down here while living in this crazy world

We’re going through a pandemic, racism, everything is in an uproar

But I’m thankful that you are at peace

And that you don’t have any real concerns

Thank you for always loving wholeheartedly

For making sacrifices, for always being selfless

You made me into the woman I am today

And for that I will forever be grateful

Your grandson is doing fine

He misses you more and more each day

You will always be his best friend

Please keep watching over him

Although it’s been hard adjusting to you not being here

And I’ve cried more times than I’ll like to share

I remind myself that I will see you again

I’ll get to hug you and embrace your face

But until that day comes, I’ll keep my head held high

Even when I think of you and cry, I’ll remember you telling me everything will be alright

I will always love you mommy

And I know you will always love me

Rest in Paradise

Love,

Your daughter Ashley

Coronavirus

Social distancing, 6 feet

Global pandemic

Parents are supposed to be there for their children

Even if their lives start to fall apart

You can’t just give up and walk away…

…are leave the state to try to escape

Deadbeats always make up excuses

But quick to point their fingers when things don’t go their way

It’s time to STEP UP

It takes two to tango

You laid down to make him

Then turned around and left him

How can you look at what you created with eyes that’s blind to his pain?

He stays looking for you

And you’re hiding in plain sight

Too bad you’re missing out on a kid that’s beyond amazing

All because you’re too selfish to think past yourself

It’s time to STEP UP

As a father you should be calling your son

You should be the one making him feel loved

There’s no reason for months to go by without a word

But you expect him to call to say what’s up

He needs a man to help him become one

But you’re too busy being a father to another child that’s not yours

It’s time to STEP UP