gentle as a teardropstrong like the eyefinding peace in a crowded roomwe poets tend to thinkour words are goldenthough emotion speaks tooloudly to be definedby silencesometimes after midnight or just beforethe dawnwe sit typewriter in handpulling loneliness around usforgetting our lovers or childrenwho are sleepingignoring the weary warinessof our own logicto compsoe a poemno one…
you think i’m scaredbut i’m a big girli don’t cry or anythingI have a greatbig bed to roll aroundin and lots of spaceand i don’t dreambad dreams like i usedto have that youwere leaving meanymoreNow that you’re gonei don’t dreamand no matterwhat you thinki’m not lonelysleepingall alone
(for Harlem Magic)The laws of science teach us a pound of gold weighs asmuch as a pound of flour though if dropped from anyundetermined height in their natural state one wouldreach bottom and one would fly awayLaws of motion tell us an inert object is more difficult topropel than an object heading in the wrong…
you can eat fresh cornfrom daddy’s gardenand okraand greensand cabbageand lots ofbarbecueand buttermilkand homemade ice-creamat the church picnicand listen togospel musicoutsideat the churchhomecomingand go to the mountains withyour grandmotherand go barefootedand be warmall the timenot only when you go to bedand sleep
black people aren’tsuppose to dreami wanted to bea raeletand say ‘dr o wn d in my youn tears’or ‘tal kin bout tal kin bout’or marjorie hendricks and grindall up against the micand scream‘baaaaaby nightanddaybaaaaaby nightandday’then as i grew and maturedi became more sensibleand decided i wouldsettle downand just becomea sweet inspiration
DeathAnd the word was niggerAnd the word was death to all niggersAnd the word was death to all lifeAnd the word was death to allpeace be stillThe genesis was lifeThe genesis was deathIn the genesis of deathWas the genesis of warbe still peace be stillIn the name of peaceThey waged the warsain’t they got no…
‘i want chu to learn how to make rolls’ said the oldwoman proudlybut the little girl didn’t wantto learn how because she kneweven if she couldn’t say it thatthat would mean when the old one died she would be lessdependent on her spirit soshe said‘i don’t want to know how to make no rolls’with her…
‘Good night’no matter how young or old you areSome people don’t remember thatlove islistening and laughing and askingquestionsno matter what your ageFew recognize that love iscommitment, responsibilityno fun at allunlessLove isYou and me
sit and waitand it’s gonna findmeall i gotta dois sit and waitif i can learn howwhat i need to dois sit and waitcause i’m a womansit and waitwhat i gotta dois sit and waitcause i’m a womanit’ll find meyou get yoursand i’ll get mineif i learnto sit and waityou got yoursi want mineand i’m gonna…
you wouldn’t be nobodyand she said: god created heaven and earthand all that’s Black within themso he said: you ain’t really no hot shitthey tell me plenty sisterstake care better business than youand she said: on the third day he made chitterlingsand all good things to eatand said: ‘that’s good’so he said: if the white…
