Untitled I

"Be nobody's darling;

Be an outcast.

Take the contradictions

Of your life

And wrap around

You like a shawl,

To parry stones

To keep you warm. "

-Alice Walker

-CD

Somewhere

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me,i and
my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the colour of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

-e.e.cummings-CD

My heart breaks

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—

And cabbages—and kings—

And why the sea is boiling hot—

And whether pigs have wings."

From The Walrus and the Carpenter, Lewis Carroll

-CD

In and Out of Time

The sun has come

The mists have gone

We see in the distance our long way home

I was always yours to have, you were always mine

We have loved each other in and out of time

When the first stone looked up at the blazing sun

And the first tree struggled up from the forest floor

I had always loved you more

You freed your braids

Gave your hair to the breeze

It hung like a hive of honeybees

I reached in the mass for the sweet honeycomb there

God, How I loved your hair

You saw me bludgeoned by circumstance

Lost, injured, hurt by chance

I screamed to the heavens; loudly screamed

Trying to change our nightmares into dreams

The sun has come

The mists have gone

We see in the distance our long way home

I was yours to have and you were always mine

We loved each other in and out

In and out

In and out of time

-Maya Angelou

-CD

The Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,

even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble,

it's a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

-Max Ehrmann

-CD

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Edgar Allen Poe, A Dream Within a Dream

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be
greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career
however humble;
it is a real possession in the
changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you
to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit
to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham,
drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

-Desiderata, Max Ehrmann

All day long...

"Come, my love, we have oceans to sail." - Saul Williams

-CD

Warning by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman,

I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn’t go,

and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension

on brandy and summer gloves and satin sandles,

And say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired

and gobble up samples in shops

and press alarm bells

and run with my stick along public railings,

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick flowers in other people’s gardens

and learn to spit!

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at ago,

or only bread and pickles for a week,

and hoard pens and pencils

and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry,

and pay our rent

and not swear in the street,

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner

and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me

are not too shocked and surprised

when suddenly I am old,

And start to wear purple!

Hits you hard right?Check out more of the incredibly talented lyricist, Eleagle, here.Thanks for the head's up Mr. Bentley
-CD

Seduction by Nikki Giovanni

one day
you gonna walk in this house
and i'm gonna have a long African
gown
you'll sit down and say "The Black..."
and i'm gonna take one arm out
then you-not noticing me at all- will say "What about this brother..."
and i'm going to be slipping it over my head
and you'll rap on about "The revolution..."
while i rest your hand against my stomach
you'll go on-as you always do- saying
"I just can't dig..."
while i'm moving your hand up and down
and i'll be taking your dashiki off
then you'll say "What we really need..."
and taking your shorts off
then you'll notice
your state of undress
and knowing you you'll just say
"Nikki
isn't this counterrevolutionary..."

Jada

u r the omega of my heart 

the foundation of my conception of love 
when i think of what a black woman should be 
its u that i first think of

u will never fully understand 
how deeply my heart feels 4 u 
i worry that we'll grow apart 
and i'll end up losing u

u bring me 2 climax without sex 
and u do it all with regal grace 
u r my heart in human form 
a friend i could never replace

by Tupac Shakur

may i feel said he

e.e. cummings

may i feel said he
(i'll squeal said she
just once said he)
it's fun said she


(may i touch said he
how much said she
a lot said he)
why not said she


(let's go said he
not too far said she
what's too far said he
where you are said she)


may i stay said he
(which way said she
like this said he
if you kiss said she


may i move said he
is it love said she)
if you're willing said he
(but you're killing said she


but it's life said he
but your wife said she
now said he)
ow said she


(tiptop said he
don't stop said she
oh no said he)
go slow said she


(cccome?said he
ummm said she)
you're divine!said he
(you are Mine said she)

It's National Poetry Month!

It's National Poetry Month! Because of this, I've posted works that aren't conventional poems but are highly entertaining. I hope you enjoy.

Dante Basco (Yes, the guy from the show City Guys!) - Nikki (nsfw)

Thea Monyee- Woman to Woman (nsfw)

Black Ice, Poetri, Shihan- We Are Men (nsfw)

-CD