Eternally...

--for the Universe & the Creator, allowing me to exist within this realm
--for whispers and thumps on the head
--for great friends
--for music for the ears...real stuff
--for hearing Maya Azucena live...Goddess incarnate
--for talking briefly to Brother Ali...such a humble man
--for fun neo nights
--for phone calls from across the waters...they still are okay..and will be home soon
--for the young men of Thurman House
--for my girl, as of today, is ranked 11th @ WOWPS
--for hanging out with my male best friend...my rock
--for mischievous eyes and smiles
--for you getting in the slam away from home...no matter the outcome, proud of ya
--for freeness...thanks angie and hustle
--for the goodness of life in every breath...even through storms, breathe it in

Lion

i never thought you would show
nevermind stay
but you do
even when i don't
forgive me...please
for they know not what they do
these personalities split
the child,
needing mother
to keep the nightlight on
close creaking closet doors
check under beds for the boogie man i have become
the man,
needing a solid path
often walking all over you
showing the way to greener pastures
though i bring so much shit
the genius,
who struggles with normalcy
and can't quite figure out why 1+1 should only remain 2
the hustler,
needing his ride to die chick
to watch his back
when he doesn't even have his own
yet, you stay
being all these things and more
all awhile i walk through many doors
leaving you on the otherside standing in my rain
knocking gently
who gave you all those keys allowing these skeletons to stir?
i am not ready for reprieve
why are you so comfortable on this stage,
with no spotlight
except for the one i need beamed on me?
let me hide within the wings of you
you...
don't allow me to continue
rewrite these lines splitting my tongue,
injuring you
while the love notes i once wrote
get lodged between baby teeth
they can't stand the sweetness
decaying the truth i cannot speak
but don't stop searching for me within those reflective eyes
those eyes
its hard looking there sometimes
within the truth that freckles your irises
it must be what you hold onto
what you keep screaming at me with your precious puzzling prescence
though i only allow me to listen to your heartbroken smile
i want my kisses to prop up those sweet corners
run free through your forgiving lips to speak the truth of me
make me believe in me
i understand if can't take anymore
for i hang heavy on your wing torned shoulders
shake me off and back into your arms
i pray often in the name of ganja
you will not forsake me....

in progress

Grateful....

--for the mornings and late evening private time i have with the universe...keeps me grounded and continuously grateful
--for the woman i am becoming
--for the women in my life and their own growth, no matter how small they may think it is..it is still growth
--for knowing when to be the peacemaker, and when to stay in my damn lane
--for admiring you from afar...more than i will ever admit or flirt with you about
--for the 3rd round being all women...and bringing new life to old shiznitt
--for laughing at the game of slam poetry...it does NOT DEFINE ME, or who i am as a poet
--for loving the open mics, and all that it brings...craziness included
--for old faces returning
--for the fluidity of my pen lately...and OMG of my fellow poetic family...makes me smile
--for from across the seas phone calls to let me know you are okay still
--for phone calls to just to say hey...you know that space is always there for you..its just best now the way it is
--for the path that is leading me into unknown territory
--for the beauty of the 3 i call my babies...blessed to be their mommy...but i really need for them to stop growing up lol

Move...

...your address, your body, your bookshelf. shake out anything in your life that's rusty, stiff, or stuck and get it into motion. take a walk, take a hike, take a step away from stagnating jobs, relationships, and life patterns. change perspective. move closer to people who meet you with authenticity and who nourish your wildest dreams. move away from everybody else. you don't have to move mountains; shifting a single pebble can work wonders. make your move--any move--now. if you wait until you have more money, more security, more grace, more anything, you'll never move anywhere at all.
--from Rachel Snyder's 365 Words of Well-Being for Women

i am dancing in the rain, as well as, the sunshine...i am moving!!

Mentor...

...take another woman under your wing and help her learn to fly.share what you know--and how you learned it. show her whom to watch out for--and precisely why. lead her through an initiation, and guide her through the pitfalls you've already survived. tell her what she'll never read in the manual. maybe she's younger than you, maybe she's not. maybe she reminds you of you, maybe she doesn't. maybe she's your daughter. mentor her through high school, through college, through her Ph.D. mentor her into business, into government, into the theater. stay close enough to hold her gently by the arm if she needs it--and far enough away to giver her room to fall if she must. tell her you believe in her and you want to see her soar. watch her eyes become big and wide--and wonder why they call it mentor, anyway.
--from Rachel Snyder's 365 Words of Well-Being for Women

i am aware of my role amongst the young women i surround myself with...i see so much of them in me, and i have learned so much from them. i do believe as an older woman (good lawd), it is part of the authenticity of coming into one self, to be a mentor for the ones coming up.
i wish i had someone to show me the way...i pray i do well and teach well, though many times i am in no position to do so...but i must
peace & blessings

by the way...spend more time holding one another up, instead of tearing each other down please.

Mend...

...when things are frayed and torn, mend them. mend yourself when you've come apart at the seams. put your pieces back together with a steady, patient stitch. sit down in a comfy chair with that basket of clothes and mend them. bring out your threads and needles and buttons. listen to Lena Horne while you mend. put the pieces back together. mend a relationship that stretched until it couldn't stretch anymore. mend your broken heart. piece together all the beautiful squares and circles and diamonds that you are. find how your mothering self and your child self, your business self and your artistic self can all fit together in a colorful, integrated whole. like a patchwork quilt. mend that ancient rift in your family. make amends. mend that hole where you let parts of yourself be sucked away time and time again. amend your agreements with people as you change and as they change. before you reach an end, take time to mend.
---from 365 Words of Well-Being for Women by Rachel Snyder


i think it is quite important, we do this with ourselves on a regular basis. we, others, and the world often tear at us for whatever reason...most days leaving us in pieces, barely breathing, barely living.
now what?
you keep breathing, eventually you will catch your breath
you keep stitching, maybe stronger threads this time
you keep loving...yourself.