Poem 1
I close my eyes
and paint images of my
sheros and
heros
across my mental landscape.
Bold brushstrokes and
striking contrasts
in radiant reds,
vivid yellows and
and vibrant blues.
They shine so brightly
when I open my eyes
and look at my own
reflection
I am fuzzy around the edges.
Blurred lines
and muted colors.
I peek into places
I wish were filled with greatness
and find only shallow pools of potential.
I diminish myself in the shadow of
everything
I wish
I could be
and define myself
by what
I am not.
Poem 2
I wander down the path
barefoot
taking my time
letting
my feet
get familiar with the pavement
before I take
my next
step.
my arms brush my sides
as they swing
back and forth
and I veer off
a little
to the left
I lay down
sink
into the grassy cushion
and watch
as the sky passes
pale pink to dusty rose
dusty rose to violet
violet to indigo
and I wait
In the space of
the shutter of my eyelids
it happens
it appears
my North Star
Poem 3
I live in the space where dreams and reality hold hands
and whisper to each other all their secrets and sorrows.
I dance in the hollows left by the spaces where they don't touch.
I spend holidays in the no-man's land where everything
and anything is possible cuz no one's rules apply.
I live in a space where dreams and reality combine
to create a place that is wholly and uniquely mine.
Poem 4
Invisible to the naked eye
I wrap myself up in it
and strut
down the street.
I listen to the whispers
I feel the stares
Folks see my smile
and wonder aloud
"Does she know she's
naked?"
I chuckle at what they
cannot see.
I settle into a satisfied smile
and I look down at my body
covered in
the impression of your kisses
when your lips have gone,
the warmth of your palm in mine,
the tenderness of your fingertips
on the bare small of my back,
the moments that pass
between us when not a word
is said.
I smile at those people
as they gaze at me
confused at the height
of my chin and
the certainty
of my steps.
They cannot see
I wear your love
like a second skin.
Poem 5
Each year as more distance grows
between me and
it
I hope to forget
but my stomach tightens
and my temper shortens
and my joints stiffen
before I am aware
of my remembering
Call it muscle memory
Call it aftershocks
from an earthquake almost
two
decades
old
that invades my body
before alerting my mind
and I go days
puzzling at the shift
trying to pinpoint
the reason
I am turning inward
on myself
burrowing so deep
I can not find me
But then my head
catches up with my heart
already broken and rebroken
and mending as best it can
and I cry conscious tears
as my whole self mourns
my knowing.
Poem 6
Nothing happened
I made it home
Two feet through the door
head atop my neck
sitting squarely on my shoulders
every hair in place
no tousled locs holding tales of trauma
I am
fine
I made it
But the sound of those footsteps echoing mine
The shadows cast on his face
in twilight
and the familiar fear
The tightening in my chest
The tension in my muscles
The painful rapid beating of my heart
that remembers
what has yet to happen
that remembers
violence can come from familiar places
as easily as from strange ones
that remembers
the impressions left on its spirit
that linger long after the impressions of fingertips
have faded
I wish I could forget.
Poem 7
Breathing life
I am breathing life
I wake up
and before I open my eyes
I breathe
life
Knowing air will keep my
pulse pumping
and my heart
beating
but life
will be what keeps me
alive.
I inhale
and exhale
big gulps of living
until my nostrils flare
and my
throat burns
but the pain is a reminder
that I am here.
Poem 8
i make worlds with my
words hoping to manifest
a new tomorrow.
Poem 9
consistent
in its inconsistencies
unwavering
in its inevitability
reliable
as my next breath
and the one after that
until
I reach
my last
I wait for change
my familiar friend
now that I am wise enough
to embrace it
brave enough
to hold its hand
strong enough
to hold myself
steady
as it dances
around me
Poem 10
The me that is
relfected
in my
reflection
is only
a piece
of me
she is only the part that
you
see
the image I hold in my mind
is skewed
from perceptions
expertly crafted
diligently molded
from the beginning
of my time
I can not see the she
that stands in for me
and sometimes I wonder
which one of us
is real?