Excerpt from Pocketful of Poetry: Formally a Short Book of Poems

 My Poetry Book

Just bought me a new poetry book

Now my fingers are twitchin’

To write down theories and agendas

I’m gonna my poetry book sing

The love songs of heart break.

And first loves, joy, and pain

My poetry book will serve as a reminder

Of past here-to-fors and where-un-tos

Of days that are yet to be and those that have already been

They will all be in my poetry

I’ll write about the love of a good man

I’ll write about how some bastard done me wrong

In my poetry book

There will be odes to personal triumph

Sonnets dedicated to self-esteem and, ME!

I’ll jot them all down so everyone can see

The kind of poet I’ve grown to be

I’ll use words that will make the mind boggle

I’ll make rhymes out of many different reasons

Conjure up metaphors and similes that tell tales

To take a journey in to the great where I want to be

In my poetry book, even though it saddens me

Times of unhappiness will be recollected

Melancholy tales of self-loathing will be told

My poems will cry my tears and ease my pain

My words will ache for me, keeping me from dying inside

In my poetry book

I will scream at injustice

I will right the wrongs of the world

My wrath will be felt and my outrage known

There will be no protection from the fury once it is unleashed

In my poetry book

My poems will sing the praises of heroes

Sonia Sanchez, Assata, Chaka Khan, and Langston Hughes

And Ruby Kitchen too, you may never have heard of her, but

She’s the one who made sure I made it from childhood to adulthood safely

And all she asked of me, was that I do right

And I’ll do right in my poetry book

My poetry book will speak

My poetry book will cheer

My poetry book will cry

My poetry book will sing

My poetry book will yell out loud

Just bought me a poetry book

Now my fingers are twitchin’

To write down poems… My poems

All down in my poetry book

Trayvon Speaks

If I am walking down the street and I am descendant of African,

Then I have to give a good reason why I am walking down the street of another man!

I have no right to free movement… Or even to see my family again?!

You say that you were just standing your ground;

But it was you who followed me, because I looked suspiciously;

However, you are nothing more than a self-appointed vigilante!

You! Who was told to stop your pursuit; but continued stalking my route.

You! Who left your car and thought it a good I idea to confront me, because I was in your territory

You said shooting me was your right all because you couldn’t beat me in a fair fight!

The jury has spoken and you tell my people to go home, but this time it you who has got it wrong.

Because my people have learned their lesson from Rodney King,

The do not have sticks, bottles, and knives… Peace is the weapon my people are will be using!

You may have won the battle, but you don’t know who you are messing with, the war has just begun.

You are going to think twice the next time you see anyone from the diaspora of Africa

The artillery we use, you may not be ready for…  

Demonstration, boycotts, sit-ins, and petitions

The one thing you forgot about my people; they may take a lickin’, but they keep on tickin’

After 600 hundred years of persecution and struggle;

My African people may bend and they don’t buckle!

They are going to stand with mother and father, and that is absolute

Their faith in justice is like their faith in me, resolute.

You are really going to know what it feels like to be attacked,

Because it takes a nation of millions to hold me and my people back.

So call Geraldo Rivera, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh

Because me and people will rise and not fall, and in the end we’re gonna win it all!

I’m not saying this to incite a riot, but your house of cards is on fire

Even though the search for justice will long and arduous one, my people are prepared and they never tire!

For the time being justice has been delayed, but make no mistake it has not been deferred,

You be celebrating now, but forget what you might have heard

Because my people all around the world are preparing for a fight;

And it will take a lot more than a handgun blast to darken this light!

So I tell you now because America has NOT learned from the lessons past,

African American children will not be predestined to the second or third class!

Using attacks, dogs, water hoses, Jim Crow and other racist, discriminatory, and misguided rules of law

And all they’ve managed to learn is… My people can take a hit to the jaw!

So the next time you make a decision about who someone might be

First of all you’re not white, and second you too can look suspicious in a hoody!

Poetry Is...
Poetry is…

Nourishment for the hungry mind,

Solitude for the overcrowded soul,

Water for my thirsty heart,

Do I like poetry?

NO...!

I NEED POETRY!!!!

Party in Heaven

The truth is in the story you told

"Ain't no drag, Papa's got a brand new brag."

The lives you touch, the music you made

You made us, "Say it loud, I'M BLACK AND I'M PROUD"

There's a party goin' on in heaven, God thought he could use your rhythm section.

Baddest brother in patent leather, The Godfather of SOUL, FUNK, and yes even HIP HOP!

You were the first to drop the beat on da' ONE.

Laid the foundation for the crush groovin and the body movin'!

No wonder God called you HOME!

So you could do ya' thing on da' microphone!

Yeah there's a party goin' on in heaven, Josephine Baker’s stoppin' by,

Dorothy Dandridge, and you know Moms Mabley wanna GET DOWN TOO!!

Redd Foxx will be in the back tellin dirty jokes with Richard Pryor.

And you will be the Purveyor of the Funktastic, Broadcaster of the Boogie Oogie Oogie,

The Entertainer of entertainers, Mr. Soul Brother #1,

JAAAMMMEESSSS BBBRRROOOWWWNNN!!

And when St. Peter sends forth news of your arrival, Curtis Mayfield will once again rise to his feet,

To accompany you in da' groove.

Gregory Hines will tap in unison to, "I know you got SSSOOOUUULLL, brothers and sisters!"

There's a party goin' on in heaven,

Yeah, God's havin' a party in heaven

And Tupac and Biggie told him your music is da' BOMB!

Even Luther and Gerald, had to concede to the hardest working man in show business.

And that's when God put in the call.

So you could blast your hitz in the place where the party never ends.

And even though your time here on Earth is no more,

Your star burns on forever and a day,

If one listens closely they can still here you call out,"

“Heh, heh, HHHEEEYYY!”

I am Barack Obama

I am Barack Obama

I made you believe, “Yes we can!”

I made Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream a reality,

I’ve been doubted, lied about, and insulted

I’ve taken the worst and haven’t buckled

I am Barack Obama

I am America’s executive branch

I answer only to titles that truly define me

Motivator, leader, and defender to millions

Leaving a legacy of encouragement to those who hope

I am Barack Obama

I am charismatic and famed public speaker

But I can do more the talk,

Because I put truth power, and make the impossible happen

Don’t believe me… Where’s Osama Bin Laden

I am Barack Obama

They called me a community organizer and thought that would shame me

But that’s okay, because now I organize an even bigger community

I will always work hard for my country  

Despite what anyone might say…  That country is the USA

I am Barack Obama

I am you, you are me

I got this far because I always believed

I rose above all the hate, prejudice, and negative sentiment

To become and remain America’s 44th president

26

Yesterday I cried 26 tears

fought back 26 more...

Because I still don't understand

Why people do what they do anymore:

Children in the throes of innocence and promise,

Cut down in the belly of hate and madness.

And the teachers whom everyone claims,

Don't do enough, gave everything,

So now... where are all the blames?

I cried 26 tears yesterday,

and was startled by 26 fears.

Because if children cannot be spared,

Then there really isn't enough love to be shared.

With cries of injustice, and demands for gun control

We huff and we puff;

But still... There are parents left, without children to hold...

I cried 26 tears yesterday

and collected them in a box for safe keeping,

So that I can always look back,

And remember why I was weeping.

Let's not forget, but try to forgive...

And as we move on, pray for and recall

Those who will continue to cry;

And no matter the resolution, I still will not understand why.

On a day in December;

They all had to say goodbye.

He

He came to make room in my mind just for him

To move around the stuff, looking for a space where he fit in

And now, he expects me to think straight

Now he what me to go on as if nothing has been said and… Done!

But I think he knows what he does…

Because he smiles whenever he does it

And in his mind I see him

Plotting ways to make me lose control

He’s trying to make his way to my heart

Using words to make me want to give in

Does he know that he is fighting he can’t help, but win

Or can he does he have to compete with my defenses

He swears he knows just the way

Because he claims he saw the very depths of my soul

And spied my heart and mind and saw me

Waiting, ready just for him

He’s never been this much to me before

Never been the one to make me write a poem

Yet, he’s the reason I sit here, pouring out my heart

Recollecting all the ways he moves

Does he the smile be it shows on my face

Does he hear the beat of my heart?

When he is near I want to say…

Say all the things he makes me feel

Though I have never seen his face

I know he is beautiful

The only question I would pose if he were here…

Can we fall in love forever?

SUPERGIRL

I know I am a superhero, cuz I leap excessive drama in a single bound.

My only weakness is my inability to tolerate stupidity.

I crush all foes in the blink of an eye.

My greatness nemesis knows they are no match for me,

because in a fight, they learned that my death blow is mean,

and there is a reason they call me the QUEEN.

So if you find yourself in trouble, in need of a helping hand, I’ll be there in a jiffy, because I CAN!!!

White Magic

Magic is the practice of slight hand and to deceive,

But I see the Aces you hide up your sleeve,

Maybe if I were a bit more gullible,

You'd be, the very man bringing me heartache and trouble,

But I'm hip to the slick,

Not falling that lame ole' love trick,

I'm a Queen in case you're befuddled,

God's already promised me an ocean...

SO DON'T COME BRINGING ME NO PUDDLE

He II

He moves like the clouds in the sky, smooth... effortlessly.

He's Mr. Good Stuff, way beyond good enough, satisfying.

He's cool like fire and as hot as ice, he's my man, man because he’s twice as nice.

He is the King of the world and I'm his Queen,

He's the days of my week, and he always stays clean.

If it is a cloudy day, it never was, because when he comes to see me...

He always brings the sun.

Ode to Langston Hughes

I can remember…

An October, or was it September?

I stood in front of my class

To pay homage to

A literary patriarch

The poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,”

Though the words slip my mind…

I can still feel the joy in my heart

As I those read the words to my classmates

I saw more than words on paper…

For they, were more of an experience

They were the struggle of a man

His delight and hard work

They were a voyage through…

A content state of wisdom

And as I read

My classmates saw more than me just reading

They saw a poet burst out of her shell

They saw words inspire a little girl’s creativity

And help bring forth, the woman I am today

Langston you made me laugh

  you made me cry,

But most of all

You gave me the gift to share and think

How to put my emotions and insight,

Into an ordinary piece of paper

As I sit and write these words to you Mr. Hughes

I wonder about your poems

Those that are familiar

And some I only know vaguely

How could those words from yesterday,

Inspire these words I write today?

Using those words written so long ago,

Was it by accident or your intention to…?

Make me voyage taking the roads you once used

Or have your lyrics of toil and resistance.

Given me the prudence to…

To walk confidently, bravely with every step on the road to achievement

And somehow because of you, it is easier to take

I thank you Langston Hughes

For my love of poetry

For my freedom to express

For who I am and,

Who I will become.

Ode to Robert Frost

When I was young

I walked the road traveled by most

This road was paved with

Failure and bad intentions

Because this road was shadowed by doubt

Leaving heartache in its wake

For I was a follower of those who had…

Forsaken good judgment

Headed toward self-destruction

Leaving me lost in the dust

But still I continued to.

Walk the road traveled by most

And it was making me ill

I began to tire of this path

Then in off in the distance, what did I see?

Unpaved, on unworn fields of green

Desiring the wear of traveler’s feet

Lit by the sun,  not shadowed and clean

The road was the road less traveled

It is bumpy, but the hills are filled with fresh flowers

It is long; still the trail is lush green under toe

I wish to be on this road…

Now that I am older,

I will take the road less traveled

I will walk with God, and give Him my trouble

I will forsake those, that journey down that easy path

And end up nowhere,

Stranded… Out There!