negotiations are mostly difficult at mornings birth
then as she matures into treacherous day
i loosen the grip on my own hearts thin skin
mantra speaks the magic words
my hand shakes as i sign the dotted line again
understood the truth of you and my untethered existence in your universe
diligently i refrain from dispute
but accept the mortal wounds by evenings
song of sadness
i was led to believe that angels became extinct
that i a wretched sinner would not ever look into their eyes silver slate reflecting the color of God
i was informed that i did not deserve to ascend a rocky road unless the stones beneath my feet trip me to watch me bleed
but out of electricity and behind a curtain of anonymity the angel was and he appeared to comfort the devilish fear of climbing that mountain chosen for me
none the less along our way thorns and thoughts of human scorn did plague me
but this angel with Porciuncula’s history painted on his skin sat with me in the time of my atonement
still so i could hear the rushing of my blood for the first time in my life
then as only angels do effortlessly ushered me into his arms when the gates of heaven broke apart and explained to me that it wasn’t my time now but to follow him back down where real life would unfold once more and that the gods judged fit to send him with me to save me from myself
i see you in the car
on my feet
the bus
city streets
poetry in your
wrinkled hands
forehead and jowls
the news of your town
your home and world
raw through your glare
i love you deeply
from afar like you
definitely more
sometimes
your hair the roots
and crown of
the frame of you
patient like the Ruth
wisdom in your step
woman don’t look at me
untethered daughter
i reach for the hem
of your overwhelmingly
heavy garment
i worship you a cruel goddess
only because you love deeply
and lose infinitely
your cracked toe nails
calloused to defeat
finger nails ready for the meet
we have always been running
you have always been creating
woman i love you from afar
ive reduced life to see and keep
watching those outside of me
wandering through the forests of the street
i wandering but knowing my truth
keeping in time with the breath of us
i walk watch look down and teach
myself to bury it all in
like the subway at five
the scents of dust and gasoline
transport me to my early youth and years
when primordial rules of procreation haunted my womb
but there were no takers in the battle
as nights unraveled in perplexity
and days ended in sullen tragedy
no options left amid the fields of nothingness
now a mother to my years i orphaned most of them
walking away from normalcy into the mouth of modern beast who struggles with love for me
there’s no silver lining in this urban city sky but we do have loopholes in the contract of our life where we feel the happiness
it’s the poor fabrics we’ve worn all of our lives that have roughen our skin she said with a menthol sigh
her sister runs her ankles swollen with years of defeat and three lost sons one buried in the ground and two alive within a legal sepulchre
what the doctor say about the sugar in your blood and did Titi pay the light bill on time because the worker’s coming on Friday
a fly lands on her fractured hand and she shoots it away with her thirty five dollar salon acrylic thumb nail the charms and doodads were free
I’m suppose to cook dinner for Brother Murphy and his wife for the wake of his momma Lord rest her in peace I heard she left him some land in Tennessee
carefully following the mailman with her dark brown eyes she hopes to get a letter from her daughter telling her she’s won the fight against the slumlord in Selma
you know if we put our checks together we can buy Kayla that puppy she wants but how do we hide it from HACLA
the sweat on her brow she’s lied about playing it off as the vapors gets harder to hide under her cornrows as the tumor begins to rise
you should take some B vitamins for your aches and pains by the way Dwayne called at 8 talking about he wants his money by tomorrow
the African Violet out on her patio turns to look at her as she fill a cracked styrofoam cup with cool water from the sink takes a silent sip and quenches the soil of the thirsty velvety faces
words less spoken 