24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
The crust of the Earth holds many secrets
Petrified in rock and wood.
Therein is the shape of a heart
seared through layers of sandstone.
Did erosion cause this art?
Or did some ancient lover carve
his love into stone?
Then again, does it really matter?
While walking in the woods one day,
I came upon a tree.
It reached up high, majestic
Its grandeur called to me.
I took my time exploring
Its ancient roughened bark
And when I came to the other side
I spied a time-worn mark.
A heart was carved into the wood
Sap covered, its age was evident.
In my mind I saw the story
Of a love given sentiment.
I imagined two young lovers,
On a casual stroll one day
They came upon this same tree
And stopped along the way.
In a romantic rush of ardour
The two hearts were drawn as one
After they had left their mark
They resumed their walk beneath the sun.
In this 5th hour
I feel the need to say
I am a black woman
With black children
Who matter to me.
In this, the 5th hour…
It is important that you see
My black family is just as important as all you have produced from your belly.
In this the 5th hour, I want to scream…
Stand with me
Reassure me that I am worthy of the very breath I breathe.
In this 5th hour, please I beg of thee…
Hour 5 prompt: use an image as a jumping off point. I chose one of my own photographs.
cobweb tentacles
dendrite feelers
stretching, reaching
doing what they know
only through risk
can we grow
bravely
stupidly?
stubbornly
I set out today
across a land
vast and dangerous
threats on every surface
potentials
unknown
could I die alone
on a prairie highway?
lie
all hope lost
ravaged by this menace
conniving to rid the earth
of a race of parasites
nature’s cleansing sweep
is ridding the earth of killers
with no conscience
the human race
that doesn’t care enough
for the creator
who feeds and shelters
masses intent
on filling needs
nonsensical
unnecessary
momentarily pleasurable
ultimately unfulfilling
stuff, things, gear and good
that kill
kill the human race
as I embark
into the unknown
intent on going home
I pray it won’t be
to my last
inevitable
resting place
Do you remember me?We met here…
Long ago;
Lifetimes before.
Do you know me, still?
We met again,
Right here…
Not even a moment ago.
More than once…
twice
three times, four and five…
a dozen times.
Always so close…
Yet, not at all.
You held me up …
Called me your angel;
Called me your own.
You stopped,
for awhile.
I dreamed you back…
to life . . .
You have forgot?
You hold me in your heart…
This I know.
You carved me in there,
You thanked me there.
Come back …
Once more …
For as long as you can.
For I have been left …
alone …
you are my soul.
We are carved together …
Forever.
You know that.
This night sky full of stars
Reminds me of when I was a kid
And looked up to a similar sky
Wondering if I could reach those stars
If I stretched my hand far enough
The dreams changed when
One day I could only see
The dark clouds covering the sky
Which had always seemed so
So invincible, so untouchable
Yearning for the light
I couldn’t understand why
Why didn’t the sky fight back
Was it’s light not enough
To even make a crack in the foreboding clouds?
Of course, things have changed
since then, I have changed
And now I realize that maybe
Maybe the clouds were just like me
Admiring something from far below
wondering if they could ever reach it…
Maybe if they stretched far enough?
I last posed with you for a picture at the airport
177 moon sleeps ago.
I had to ask for the picture, but there we are in
our winter coats, time escaping too fast
my heart racing below the layers because
for the first time I didn’t know when
the baby I had born, now a man,
would return to me.
A call that few answer to serve and train
against dangers seen, my son, a Marine,
taking charge of other mother’s sons and daughters,
who said yes to “The Few, The Proud,”
Words etched in our hearts and waking moments.
So we save the pictures that come –
a glimpse of purpose, proof of life –
A sign that destiny is unfurling and a mother
who had the courage to say “go and be”
in certain uncertain times
while she too sleeps under a hopeful moon
dreaming of the next time she stands, arm around
her grown child, posing for a moment of proof.
Realize my life is not going the way it was planned
And when I followed what everyone else wanted…
Let’s just say now I’m even more miserable
Tired of playing by everyone else’s rules
So now I am playing hard and my way
Woke up this morning
And now I’m at the point in my life where I say
FUCK YOU!!!
Fuck you and the world!!!
Realize no one has my back
They swear they have my back
Sure yeah right
Have my back
That is it
No other way