I'm going to give you the best answer
you've never had
to all the questions
you never ask

Nakupenda

Your legacy is unwritten
which means it is untold
remain silent
until it is worth speaking of

truth-full-y

I see you
the way a mirror see's itself
encompassed by its purpose
forgetting
its worth seeing
not just using to be seen into

There is a lot of love in the world
of a loveless people

There is a lot to be seen
thru a faceless peep hole

Keep that key and the spare
on stand by
Stand by until you don't need to open doors
sparingly

Be strong

Insecurities don't compromise beauty
beauty compromises insecurities
A conflict worth sorting out

Speak to yourself
more than you are spoken about

Trace the lines of your hand
don't memorize them
but forget not the familiarity

Never get lost in the lines of another
Always find your way back home

There is no place quite like you

When's the last time we discussed your beauty?
Taboo the way beautiful lays itself across the strength of a mans character
but you are

Stunningly, captivatingly beautiful
& Its not your chiseled arms
or your abs
its you

Its the way
wait...
Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?
That your beauty keeps me talking
how talking keeps me off track
but in line
and tracing circles

around your eyebrows
across your lips
down your back

Have I ever told you that you're my best friend?
That there is a joy in seeing your face after a long day
dinner tastes better on those days
and I sleep more soundly

Have I ever told you that you are worth it?
That God loves you
That he sent me to remind you
that you're beautiful

Have I ever described how comforting your laugh is?
The way it tickles me
and allows me to keep a pinch of it in my pocket
to sprinkle on me and around me
on days you are on my mind but not around me

If I never have, then with these words I always will!
Poems live forever and your beauty, well...
Its timeless

& Suddenly there was a shift
her beauty lit up the room
She created more space for her gift
issuing an eviction notice to gloom

what she thought was dead
Had been surely ressurected
no matter how much or how little was said
You could find her unaffected

Her attention now directed
Centered & refocused
& they all felt it
Joy; where she was once hopeless

a light began to shine
A brave moment a midst a hearts strife
it was far beyond time
To become the love of her own life <3 xoxo

it was recorded
sometime around age 2
me crying in another language
adieu adieu
they thought I was saying I do
but perhaps even then I knew
saying yes to someone else
meant saying a temporary good bye to you
I had only been here two years
yet cried lifetimes of pain in my tears
do you remember when we lived on venus
inside the city of love
how we looked down & laughed at paris
the way it tried to mimic us
that life was short lived and soon we were gone
we made our way to Johannesberg South Africa
where we felt we belonged
there was the first place I learned love on Earth could harm me
I wanted to return to venus: there we were warriors already
but you felt the need to join their army
I begged and I pleaded hoping on our planet you'd choose to stay
but you insisted you were going & worked hard to push me away
on your journey you got weak
and naturally yearned for home
I had grown tired of your silence & being on this journey all alone
it was the first journal I had started; the best poem I had ever wrote
the story of making my way up to the Ivory Coast
I spent what felt like a lifetime in solitude; just me & God
we discussed the majesty in our tragedy; even he thought it was odd
that the very things you loved
were the reasons you felt we couldn't be
you needed time to find yourself
but all you looked for was a replacement for me
we have journeyed near
we have traveled far
we are finally at the destination to discover who we are
I packed my bags and bravely made my start
no one to distract me or soothe my broken heart
getting to the bottom of things
its the best way to see
the depths of my souls ocean
rippled waves of me
I'm not juding your approach
no longer assuming how you feel
I just hope when you really start your journey
you have the courage to keep it real
that you'll be done being an oppurtunist
& take the time to heal
hurt people hurt people
unless they're hurting too
then they don't hurt each other they bond over being blue
I dont want anyone to fix me
I want to learn to do the work
to get to the core of my beauty
the essence of my worth
the day is coming soon;
I am fully committed
to receive you with open arms
there is strength in real forgiveness
I wont speak of the past harm
for it wouldn't be much more than a waste of my breath
I'd rather be present and converse about whats next...
may your heart be light
may your spirit be well
may every place you call home be somewhere you are meant to dwell
may you find your true reflection
may you find comfort in your own acceptance
may peace never be a stranger
may knowledge never lead you blind
may you understand me bidding you adieu; until next time <3

becareful Cinderella
your sisters want your fella
there is no umbrella
for the amount of years
you'll spend in tears
Sleeping beauty, keep on dreaming
Don't wake up to princes scheming
you'll find yourself lost in things not worth believing
Ariel, adhere to the truth
don't trade the Ocean for feeling blue
You shouldn't have to change who you are
If the man is really for you
Repunzel, don't let down your hair
be your own hero, let that dragon know you're not scared
Snow white be wise with whom you dabble
better to starve than eat from rotten apples
those dwarves are small but they're your brothers
let them help you re-discover
all the things about yourself
you won't learn from a prince or someone else
Jasmine listen
has anyone mentioned
better to have a man thats smitten
then a man who's simply full of riches
Belle be aware with the beast
he is only half a man to say the least
Tiana don't you find it odd
that your kiss could make him a prince
instead of instruction from God
oh the fairy tales we tell
do not buy what they try to sell
you're better off without that loan
finance your thinking on your own
what you produce will be better for your story
and worth hearing if it includes God getting the glory...

My heart has skipped a beat before
what you make me feel
is more like hopscotch
or beat breaks in hip hop
you're dope!
not addictive
I won't need rehab
if we don't last
what am I saying?
I'm playing
not last?
everlasting isn't tied to expirations
tru-love
doesn't expire
or retire
it's a decision made before life
that even when it's not right
it's still light
that's why I hide my face
but I never hide who I am
I blush with you
because there's so much trust with you
your loyalty showed me what love should do
in time of need
you make it all about me
take the back seat to your own dreams
to push me forward
pushing toward it
the ultimate goal
constant reminders
that I am special
to you
to God
a blessing to anyone
who knows me
or knows that they never will quite like you do
one half to my whole
the mate to my soul

From the moment I opened you up
(shhhhhhhh)
I knew you were all bottled up
(pop)
Took off your cap
Didn't have to tell you to relax
You knew what I was there to do
(Sigh)
Provide a little piece of paradise for you
but in the center of your stomach lived a thunder
Nothing frightening considering it wasn't paired with lighting
but it made me wonder
Who forgot to tell you that you're great
You believe it anyway, now,  so it may be too late
To tell you in so many ways
Its fate
That the ones who starve at first
Soon feed the masses with their worth
Destined for beautiful tragedies since birth
No accidents can happen
This path to reality isn't magic
Its fathomed long before we start
There is death in the depths of our hearts
There is life in the corners of our souls
There is beauty in the compilation of both stories when told
Truth speaks to seek what lies cannot tell
Fear is the reason most things fail
So I guess I was afraid to love you
The same way I was afraid to lose you
Most days I am afraid I'll choose you
Over me

The world is a scary place
Find solitude in gratitude & grace
In that space
Its harder to be erased
From the lines of lies circling our race
There is no immunity
For our need for community
To be more seen than heard
To be more than the poetry of the spoken word
Animals are gifted
They get it
& commit to seeing it thru
We won't; they do
Its the truth
Humans are so complicated
Soon our existence will be confiscated
The creator will take back what we took for granted
Living without loving, hurting one another, naturally outlandish
We live above "I'm sorry" & below "Me too"
Hiding behind what has been done to us, avoiding what we chose to do
That lack of empathy
Creates less allies & far too many enemies
There has to be a better way, to live without reproof
The animals know no shame
of living life like it's a game
they don't; we do

Of course you believe in magic.
What you pull from your hat is far from the tricks of a rabbit.
You've made being aware the least of your bad habits.
There is a light in your eyes.
A fiery summer sky.
One worth wishing upon the stars of your mind.
A galaxy worth marveling at beyond these times.
It takes courage to be strong; thank you for being courageous.
You are the example of what our ancestors wanted for us.
I hope you continue on with the spirit of change & may God see you through!
You're a King; a good thing & we need more like you!

It was your silence that hooked me
paired with eye contact
from the first pair of eyes that
had seen me
in a while
& your smile
proved that you saw me
almost like you knew me
you chose to see me
instead of view me
this "new" me