An Ode To Chicago

Chicago birthed me
The land where my feet touched the earth
Me as a child in a city so wild
It never would desert me
With its skyscrapers
And landscapers
The city of risk takers
Money makers
City of dreams
Where we dress mean
And we walk meaner
And if you've seen her
You know she's the king
But I was taken from her
Warm embrace
To a new place
And I hardly remember
It was hot and dry and
I didn't know why
But I came right back
To your skyline
Then there was the time
I went to your neighbor
for a different flavor
it was terribly dry
So back we came
Into your arms again
And quenched my thirst
Where I drank first
My favorite urban wine
There was the place
Deep in the south
We found ourselves calling
Home for a while
I never smiled I was
Not alive
My life belonged
To the city I longed
I've left you again
My old friend
Off to somewhere new
To pursue
Those dreams that started wild
You watered them
And nurtured them
Beneath your skyline
Time after time
Cradled me in the arms
Your charms
Stay with me evermore
A chitown girl
At heart
With the world at her door

The Sea and the Desert

With her head down
She sat and pondered
Twirled her hair between her fingers
Her eyes fixed on nothing
And the thoughts began flooding her
As the water rose
She felt she would go under
So she reaches her hand across
To the place that made
Those thoughts quiet
As if she had pulled
A rough blanket over them
They were now a dull roar
As her fingers glided
Like so many times before
So sensitive
To every discovery
Each one was a stone
On a path that took her
Far, far away
From the rising waters
To a desert sand
Whose scorching heat
And harsh winds
Gave her only temporary relief
Until her thirst overcame her
And once more into the water
She had to plunge
She longed never to visit the desert
She longed to build a boat
That would carry her
Upon her sea
To a land with green pastures
Tall majestic mountains
With the streams and rivers
That may rush through her land
But could never swallow her
So she began to build
And when the water would rise
She picked up another plank
And kept building
And when she felt herself
Reaching for the desert
She swallowed the bitter sea water
Knowing one day she could drink
Of the fresh flowing waters of her stream
So she kept building
Because no matter how oppressive the waves
She could swim
The desert left her with nothing
Sucked her dry and left her a shell
So she kept building
In hopes of never again returning
To that desolate place
In fear that the sea
Would carry her away
She keeps building
For with each piece she builds
A little more of her was lifted
Out of the water
And onto the boat
And she rested
With each plank
She kept building

Little Sticky Note

A table full of
bright yellow sticky notes
lined with scribbled half sentences
scratched out and filled in
smudged blue fingers
rapidly peel away
the sticky thoughts
folding them gently
tucked away for
late night storms
and scattered release
when no one is around
when the shadows dance
upon the face of time
my face
it hides
between these lines
every word
shatters into a million
little pieces
bringing hope
fear
love
here on these notes
I write history
I write my story
I write eternity

Strange Love

Every word misspoken
Every promise broken
Times where I thought I had failed myself
They say love yourself
And all will be right
happy, bright
but it's a strange, strange love

You say you're gonna win
until you do it again
why can't you love yourself right
be happy, be bright
it will all be alright
when you find that strange, strange love

read all the books
and stop in the mirror
look at yourself
while your turnin around
they say you're not happy
well how could you be
when your smile looks more like a frown
don't you know that strange, strange love
can turn it all around?

if we were meant to know
i guess we'd never grow
you hope it doesn't haunt your whole life
so be happy, be bright
you're doin alright
keep chasin that strange, strange love

Upon The Wind

On my branch I clung real tight
in hopes that i might stay
My twig it started seperatin'
I feared I'd drift away
Oh where would the wild wind blow me?
How far off would I stray?
I didn't wanna leave
But it had to be this way

The wind it took me up so high

I thought I'd never fall

And times I fell so low 

I thought I'd finally seen it all

My tree it gave me safety
From the pourin rain and thunder
But now I've grown too big for it
And was therefore torn asunder

A little leaf upon the wind
Like a grain upon the sand
may seem so awfully small
when you take the world at hand
and though I fly upon the wind
sometimes unable to see
I must never forget that one leaf
has what it takes to become a tree

Perfect

from crooked to straight
now it's perfect
we appreciate
because it's perfect
but perhaps it was more beautiful
when it was not quite right before
you move it to the left
not satisfied
you move it to the right
and still you find
it still is not where you want it to be

so you fix it til it's perfect
but now do you observe it?
do you notice it as you pass on by?
no longer, now it's perfect
it needs no further work
it has become no matter now
but now it's perfect.

carpe diem

seize the day
hold it in your hands
like a piece of clay
mold every minute
they tick away
never to be had again

so quickly the clock spins
while all day we wait
lament our former sins
and tremble at our fate
but oh this minute
is never to be had again

Hair

Tight curls knotted underneath
from the weight and scorching heat
get flattened on the oppressive plates
or fried in stinking liquid fates
long and glossy
watch it move
evoking words like "silky smooth"
born from tangled nappy messes
know we have our lovely tresses
so thank you Motions and Ogilvie
you've delivered us from cruelty
from afro puffs and kinky twists
not here, no nappiness exists
just glue it, fuse it, braid it in
and let the pain begin
we rose with slavery upon or backs
only to be a slave to tracks

In Between

I am caught 

Somewhere between polo shirts

And white t's

between dinner parties

and backyard barbecues

But those things are common

I am caught

Somewhere between french braids

and cornrows

between Frank Sinatra

and Tupac Shakur

But those things are trivial

I am caught

Somewhere between affirmative action

and negative reaction

between your curiosity

and your accusation

But those things are questionable

I am caught

between not enough

and just enough

between your love

and your fear

But those things are imaginary

So why then, would I feel offense?

I am in between

When you speak ill of my brothers and sisters

Surely you don't mean me,

only those who look like me