Saturday, February 16, 2008

Ur like thirrrrttyyy or some'n!!!!!


Happy Birthday to my wonderful fashion loving, yuengling drinking, fried chicken and watermelon eating sister-friend. Here's to you for overcoming obstacles with grace, being a consummate optimist, inspiring me to find my writing voice and never letting me forget my worth. Blessings to you today and always.


To Anita Ginger



high/yellow/black/girl

walken like the sun u be.

move on even higher.

those who laugh at yo/color

have not moved to the blackness we be about

cuz as Curtis Mayfield be sayen

we people be darker than blue

and quite a few of us be yellow

all soul/shades of blackness.

yeah.

high/yellow/black/girl

walk yo/black/song

cuz some of us

be hearen yo/sweet/music.


Written by Sonia Sanchez

Thursday, February 14, 2008

V-Day..Go away...

Ok, I get it. It's not about the day. I have tortured my friends with vomit inducing posts of love poems in honor of Valentine's Day all week. But those who know me best know I am indeed a lover of "love" everyday so give me a break.

But.... I do have one more for good measure.

My friend Kenn is a amazing writer who humbly doesnt consider himself a "poet". And I agree because he is more than any box Webster's dictionary can put him in. It's hard for me to pin down a favorite piece of his but this one spoke to me on many romantic levels.

Open letter 2 my Wife

Dearest daughter of all daughters, beautiful apple of these eyes
It is with much longing I that write you through blurried words and lines
My transgressions and digressions and diversions are allayed
That you may hurry to me quickly that my heart not lose its way

In the darkness I sit loudly while thoughts and images are my home
In the light I scream in silence amidst a crowd I’m so alone
Calamities and tragedies, if advance me to you then I embrace
These forty lashes and weeping gnashes just to finally caress your face

Impatience does not become me but then neither does your void
Deficiency of you and me has made me apprehensive and annoyed
Yet I repent this near lament for you are worthy of finer muse
And that I’m stuck on temporary, well, there’s really no excuse

True love waits in haunted attics and the most unlikely of all spans
Dearest bride, begin this circle synonymous to our unbroken hands
Strangers, suitors, lovers, and less that may delay our rendezvous
Have mercy on their souls, dear Lord; I commit their souls to you

I will rub your tired feet and rest your weary head upon my breast
I will hear your unfiltered thoughts and massage your much-neglected neck
I will say, “I do” and do I will and will do what you will
I miss you, need you, want you, plead that soon you be revealed

Dearest heart, I save the best I am and the man I have yet to be
That I might carry you over the threshold and consummate what is eternal thee
I intercede now for the seeds of us unborn and/or already here
To bounce our babe upon my lap or to show our teen how not to fear

Firmaments, expanse, and destiny declare it’s written before its played
Before seeded in the womb while being fearfully and wonderfully made
Dearest Love, come to me quickly, tarry not I do implore
One day I will look in you deeply saying, “He encontrado mi amor.”

love always and © 2006 kenn bivins

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

V-Day part 4

Love Is

Some people forget that love is
tucking you in and kissing you "Good night"
no matter how young or old you are
Some people don't remember that love is
listening and laughing and asking questions no matter what your age
Few recognize that love is
commitment, responsibility no fun at all
unless
Love is
You and me


Nikki Giovanni
............................................................................................................................................................................
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

Tupac Shakur

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

V-Day part 3

Love Sonnet XVII

I do not love you as if you were a salt rose,
or topaz
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret,
between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth,
lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how,
or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly,
without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way than this:
where I do not exist, nor you,
so close
that your hand on my chest
is my hand,
so close
that your eyes close as I fall asleep.


Pablo Neruda
.............................................................................................................................................................................

The Swan Search


I looked for you in the streets of Paris,

every swift, fawn-colored car recalled your lithe limbs.

I looked for you in the King's garden at Versailles,

rainbow-colored begonias conjured the patterns of our rainbow moments.

I looked for you in every Chateau of the Loire,

every white swan gliding hopes on Lake Geneva.

Every brown-roofed chalet speckling the Alps became our nest.

I groped for the intensity of your agate eyes in every mountain I encountered.

I looked for you everywhere,

but could only find you in me

everywhere,

in every urban and suburban cell

of my existence.



Ada A. Aharoni, Ph.D.

Monday, February 11, 2008

V-Day part 2

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach,
When feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need;
By sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath.
Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barrnett Browning

Sunday, February 10, 2008

In honor of V-Day...

and my hopeless romanticism, I will post some of my favorite love poems throughout the week. Here are several from one the most profound poets I've come to know. Rumi.

Like This

If anyone asks you how the perfect satisfaction of all our sexual wanting will look, lift your face and say,

Like this.

When someone mentions the gracefulness of the nightsky, climb up on the roof and dance and say,

Like this.

If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is, or what "God’s fragrance" means, lean your head toward him or her.Keep your face there close.

Like this.

When someone quotes the old poetic image about clouds gradually uncovering the moon, slowly loosen knot by knot the strings of your robe.

Like this.

If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead, don’t try to explain the miracle. Kiss me on the lips.

Like this. Like this.

When someone asks what it means to "die for love," point here.

If someone asks how tall I am, frown and measure with your fingers the space between the creases on your forehead. This tall.

The soul sometimes leaves the body, then returns. When someone doesn’t believe that, walk back into my house.

Like this.

When lovers moan, they’re telling our story.

Like this.

I am a sky where spirits live. Stare into this deepening blue, while the breeze says a secret.

Like this.

When someone asks what there is to do, light the candle in his hand.

Like this.

How did Joseph’s scent come to Jacob?
Huuuuu.
How did Jacob’s sight return?
Huuuu.
A little wind cleans the eyes.

Like this.

When Shams comes back from Tabriz, he’ll put just his head around the edge of the door to surprise us.

Like this.
.........................................................................................................................................................................

The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,
they're in each other all along.
..........................................................................................................................................................................
I have phrases and whole pages memorized,
but nothing can be told of love.
You must wait until you and I
are living together.
In the conversation we'll have
then...be patient...then.
...........................................................................................................................................................................
When the sweet glance of my true love caught my eyes,
Like alchemy, it transformed my copper-like soul.
I searched for Him with a thousand hands,
He stretched out His arms and clutched my feet.
...........................................................................................................................................................................
When it's cold and raining,
you are more beautiful.
And the snow brings me
even closer to your lips.
The inner secret, that which was never born,
you are that freshness, and I am with you now.
I can't explain the goings,
or the comings. You enter suddenly,
and I am nowhere again.
Inside the majesty.
..........................................................................................................................................................................
With the Beloved's water of life, no illness remains
In the Beloved's rose garden of union, no thorn remains.
They say there is a window from one heart to another
How can there be a window where no wall remains?
...........................................................................................................................................................................
Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy,
absentminded. Someone sober
will worry about things going badly.
Let the lover be

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Jeremy

I'm on the Amtrak #89 going south for weekend.

I’m sitting behind a caramel colored little boy. Jeremy is his name. Occasionally, he stands up in his seat to look back at me with a careless cascading mop of curly black hair and a sea of golden chestnuts where his eyes should be. I put my book down so that he has my full attention.

He starts to serenade me with his toddler version of Alicia Keys’ song “No One.” He closes his eyes and enthusiastically sings the chorus at the top of his little lungs “Ooh ooh Ooh oh Oh……..Ooh Ooh Ooh Oh Oh!”

I instantly fall in love.

His mother apologizes and says it’s his favorite song and tries to get him to stop to no avail. “It’s ok,” I say. “He’s adorable.” They get off the train in Richmond. As we pull off from the platform Jeremy waves goodbye. I notice they are carrying trash bags instead of luggage.

I stare out the window for the next 50 miles wondering what will become of him. I quietly hum my new favorite song as the passing of the trees mercifully lulls me to sleep.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

OOOOO....I love ya!!!

Happy Happy Birthday to my dear Oprah!

Anyone who knows me well enough knows I love me some Oprah. I mean how can you not? She is a mogul, a philanthropist and a one woman empire.

Oprah Winfrey IS the American Dream! She is the coolest nouveau riche in the world. She is an incredibly good person, investing over 300 million to various charities including 40 million to open the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. And while we all know Oprah loves the finer things in life, her embrace of materialism is totally matched by her embrace of spirit. For example, I learned the laws of the universe not in a physics class, but from The Secret, the Winfrey-endorsed self-help book, which taught me that wealth is just the byproduct of a successful soul. Critics of Ms. Winfrey's money are just negativists who don't understand how to manifest the positive.
Not only has Oprah changed the way America reads and values books but you can best believe "The Oprah's Book Club" seal on a book will lead to instant fame and bestseller status for any author. I am personally well on my way to reading every book on her list.

Currently, she is lending her A-list star power to Obama's campaign, drawing huge crowds that hopefully will translate into votes. Tens of thousands turned out for Winfrey's rally stops with Obama. In South Carolina, the turn-out was so overwelming that the campaign ran out of the 18,000 tickets originally available and moved it to the 80,000-seat University of South Carolina football stadium.

One of the most powerful women in the world, Oprah is both loved...and apparently hated. People will grasp at anything, it seems, to find fault with a woman who has lived the American dream, worked her way up from the bottom, and raised herself to the status of billionaire...and all this, despite her poor upbringing, despite her gender, despite her race.

She is a force to be reckoned with, a pioneer, a survivor. If only she would be Obama's running mate.....Then all would be right with the world!!!



I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. ~ Oprah Winfrey

Monday, January 28, 2008

"AS" IF!!




It's been awhile since I danced at a club until the lights came on but we did the damn thang saturday night.

Just when we thought the whole night was going to consist of Lil' Wayne and other crunked out nonsense they started to play "our" music.

The original Stevie Wonder classic "As" was the last song of the night but this video is a not so well known version. Before Mary became the "Saint of Hip Hop Soul" she did this duet with George Michaels but it was only released in the U.K.

Anyway, what started out as a pretty pitiful and self-depreciating morning ended as a amazingly fun and oddly inspirational night. Through the miracle of vodka and great acoustics that last dance was almost a religious experience.

On that night... in that moment...in the midst of friends and strangers I felt really alive..

and beautiful...

open...

talented...

worthy.

In that moment.. I was the epitome of everything he couldnt see in me...

But ultimately that's fine as long as I continue to see it in me..


"As today I know I'm living.. but tomorrow

Could make me the past..but that I mustn't fear

For I'll know deep in my mind

The love of me I've left behind

Cause I'll be loving you me..always...."

Thursday, January 17, 2008

It's snowing!!!




This is what it looks like outside my office window. A blanket of snow. Why couldnt this have happen BEFORE I came to work so I could stay in bed eating oatmeal and watching Maury? It is pretty tho'