‘Internal Exposure’

Ladies: ‘Lean In’ and take the lead!

A sample from Book 10

 Internal Exposure
 
get it out–
that ingrained lesson
in your head
 
stop! suppressing it–
instead...shout
you are not dead
 
don't worry about
green or red–
stand out
too many...already bled
for you to shrivel in dread
 
don't quiver...beg
you do have a choice–
redefine what's been fed
rewire that inside voice
 
female verses male–
look who's already led
down, down, down–
the bottom of a cell
–on the surface
why do we still tread
 
slogans they spread
find a good man
–what happens
after I thee wed–
dreams...cave-on in
while man elevates in win
 
pretty little mommy
on lists of craig–
might as well list
held back little mommy
–tuck her...nice and sweet
in her bed
 
advancement's common thread–
smart like daddy
t-shirts read
propaganda of j.c. penny
–analogies deeply bred
 
she's just a girly
words...over and over
said
 
follow the creed
every line...in the 'reg'
–you're a 'she'

be a teacher in ed
or a nurse for ned

forget going into med
forget running for the leg

or even a pres
–don't you see

for this–
you need a third leg
 
words...buried in the head
advancing...common avoidance
leaving girls...in dread
hanging their intelligence
on a peg
 
I'll say it...what other's said
get out of your head
go out...lead
forget the man-ego clout
don't be misled
don't listen to internal's doubt
bypass labels...bitch, bossy
–ambition is not damnation!
but a reclassification...recondition
of old worn, torn traditions
 
here's some jubilation:
 
it's okay...go red
save green
for those babies
you wean
 
you can do both
let that...in...soak!
 
it's okay to be a queen!
expose that internal dread
in front of the crowd–
be in the lead
–hire someone to clean
forget all those slogans said–
you're a woman–
removed from bygone's dead
 
be heard...seen
never again
hiding behind
tradition's thread
 
let another make that bed–
dawn those heels
paint those lips red
rewrite those unwritten regs
that wrongly imposed
man-ego driven creed
Continue reading “‘Internal Exposure’”

‘Hands to Hold’

Is race going to continue to rule your life?

A sample from Book 10

 Hands to Hold
 
you come at me
you're not discrete
bold...unsure
 
maybe there's a gun in my hand
maybe I've some contraband
 
or maybe I just like hands in pocket
or wearing my earphones in my car
so I can answer this here phone
for this car absent of bluetooth–
protecting me and you
 
or maybe you're angry–
having a bad day
I pass your way
through your veins runs hate
so I become your play
 
I'm just like you‒
generation after generation
passed through
without obligations
to changing the view
 
–it all seems like voodoo
we both–
not really having a clue
‒taking it upon ourselves
get off that dusty shelf
change the view
so our kids
won't suffer too
 
maybe I do have a gun
–anger raging in stun
do you see inside of me
my hard history
maybe my hand shakes
though you can't see
–you're so angry
not seeing what's at stake
 
maybe I did some drugs–
stopping the pain
keeping from going insane
but soothing I didn't gain
all looks like a game
emotions adding to more pain
 
then you come along
thinking I'm a thug
you want to cut me down‒
stump me like a bug
without knowing the deal at home
why I'm here–
a gun...all alone
 
maybe don't yell
talk...love–
let it swell
 
instead of jail–
lead my soul to help
without making me
hate myself
 
I, too, want peace
between you and me
 
maybe instead of arrogance‒
show understanding
compassion
 
I don't want a free ride
just a reason...inside
not to cry
 
I am tough
I've got muscles, tats
my life has been rough
–crazy and all that
it doesn't mean
I'm just stuff
to pluck
 
a handshake
a hug
 
–that just might be
enough
 
I'm a human being
I don't mean to sting
 
just a little bitter
please, your anger–
could you reconsider
 
look at me for me
God's† child
making my way...like you
through the miles
 
–the past is gone
this is now
together–
we can make it all
worth while
if we just remain calm–
approach each other
in mild
without death coming in foul
Continue reading “‘Hands to Hold’”

‘Colorless Birds’

We’re all various shades of brown!

A sample from Book 10

 Colorless Birds
 
a failed adhesion
‒mixed hypercritical damnation
of all the hysteria‒
the misunderstood mystery
hundreds of years
still shed tears
still darkened fears
 
what was fought
so hard for
it doesn't seem
we came too far
even living
under the same stars
color‒
keeps bringing us back
‒justice lacked
white...black
heresy in a broken-down shack
 
tackle the government
‒greed's endowment
keeping
that stupid war's enlightenment
taking it's very commitment
back to days of judgment
 
where are the colorless birds
‒haven't you heard
that war ended
in a blood-soaked swirl
leaving this mixed-race girl
in a confused swirl
 
‒still an uneven world
lost in racial twirls
 
we're still paying tokens
‒what was broken
thought to be fixed
‒all should be mixed
still backwards
the clock tics
 
years and years
suffered pain
what did we gain
‒it's just insane
still playing
this black-white game
 
didn't king die
for a simple dream
 
to live in a time
where there is no color
 
just people
where each other
given no time to smother
no matter skin color
you're still my sister, my brother
 
honoring a man's life
doesn't give war the right
to bury the dream
‒words he openly screamed
leave hatred...difference behind
to each other
be kind
 
it's just time
stop banking on race
look into each other's face
see beauty's lace
of God's† amazing grace
Continue reading “‘Colorless Birds’”

‘Troubled Soul’

Other people’s issues are not yours!

A sample from Book 9

  Troubled Soul
 
your mixed personality
doesn't blend with reality
 
your verbal kindness
doesn't add to
your stalking rudeness
 
returning to reality
‒stripping all vulnerability
takes...taking responsibility‒
actions of self
before experiencing life...truly
 
changing personalities
doesn't insure securities
needed‒
to strengthen possibilities
 
living in denial
mile after mile‒
brings the mind
to crash
heading south‒
once there
‒getting there
you can only ask...how
 
take a look inside
your round and round ride
‒a mind in hide
never subsides
'til you stop for a while
sink in like a child‒
all your wounds...untie
 
open that book
given by God†
look deep...deep into your I
write down your whys
all that pain
bringing you to hide‒
all those cries
 
all those ancient words‒
so many have heard
let them be your guide
it takes time
 
people won't untie‒
all those knots inside
‒admittance...of self
the help of only God†‒
your only needed drive
way...way deep inside
‒then He'll† show you
how to fly
without you‒
having to ask why
Continue reading “‘Troubled Soul’”

‘Knowing is Living’

Don’t be afraid to follow your heart!

A sample from Book 7

 Knowing is Living
 
if you're stuck
at a place
know
there's reason
for your stay
 
the longer you wait
‒longer you'll suffocate
look deep in your face
beyond flesh and bone‒
beyond memories you chase
beyond hurt
you want to erase
beyond a past
that did not last
 
deeper you must go
for life
again
to flow
 
it's no one's race
but your own
 
when you're at
a constant steadfast
there's something
way down deep
you must surpass
something to grasp
‒learn
so a future
you can earn
 
stop complaining
living in emptiness
look at self
get off the damn shelf
you again
build
all else
seal
 
beyond face
look deeper
reveal your hidden secret
bloom
open your eyes
see
your new life is ready
waiting‒
‒a steady, slow pace
for you to take
nothing's at stake
but self
your inside wealth
listen...hear
for you've already earned
what in your heart
burns
your fruits‒
it's all up to you
Continue reading “‘Knowing is Living’”

‘Yelled Sarcasm’

5 Ways to Heal ‘Self’ from Abuse and Trauma

 Yelled Sarcasm
 
speaking out of turn
oh! how this heart burns
 
this once gentle character
stripped
each time a tone of voice
tips
 
gone the plow
that once endured
for this ache!
there is no cure
 
once betrayed
bitterness lays
honesty...only the heart craves
 
that forever solid pace
yearned
‒left with only discern
 
out the heart‒
emotions...flipped
drops of dimes‒
where truth is clipped
 
all smells like week-old manure
‒nothing left that's pure
 
seconds, minutes, hours‒
turn to days
as what was‒
gets lost in a bitter haze
Continue reading “‘Yelled Sarcasm’”