This past weekend was filled with poetry for me! I wrote some cool new pieces for an event, but wanted to re-post one of my old favorites from last year. Enjoy!
You will forever be that forbidden poem that I will never write,
but whose words will dance and sing in my heart.
I will go on to write many pieces,
for that is what makes me feel connected to humanity.
But that poem is sacred.
That poem remembers me.
That poem’s stanzas enliven me
and causes blood to circulate faster,
with more force and greater purpose.
Yes, that poem reminds me of the purpose
coursing through my veins!
That poem acknowledges my personhood.
That poem sees my mind, heart and spirit
through tear-filled eyes and holds them with precision
between its smile and its laughter.
The cadence of that poem I will never write
will always inspire me to do my best,
even when my best is shadowed by what will never be.
That poem will always bring me butterflies of anticipation.
Yes. Butterflies as if MJ and Marsha did a duet in Paradise.
That intricate, serene flutter during a Jill-inspired Long Walk
on a crisp, clear Southern California winter day.
The poem I will never write will always keep me grounded.
That poem will always give me the strength to take risks,
because no risk can match the weight of daring to write that poem.
That poem with matchless intellect.
That poem that exudes resilience in the face of destruction.
There are those who may experience bits and pieces of that poem,
but not one of them will ever recite that poem in its entirety. No.
Only I have the full poem engraved on my heart.
That poem will always remain an inspirational piece
for I will never release its passion into a world that aims to destroy it.
And so, to the poem I will never write,
in the spirit of Syd’s toast to your cousin, hip hop
in the experience of Brown Sugar I say to you:
To the greatest poem I will never write,
I will never regret not experiencing you in this life
for it is you who will continue to hearten me.
To you, that poem I will never write
I loved you then.
I love you now.
I will love you always.