Bella

Bella Oct 2017

There's a story about  starfish
they're sprawled out on the coast thousands of them after a storm
a boy is tossing them one by one back into the ocean
he is told what he is doing doesn't matter
that he can never put all the starfish back into the sea
but he picks one up and says,
“ it  mattered to this one.”

in the story he's seen as a hero, saving all the starfish
but I don't see him as a hero
he is just living the way he is
the way we are supposed to live

I don't like the concept of schools requiring community service hours.
you see the point of community service is not to get credit for it.
the point is to make the world better
I don't want to hand out a homeless back,
see the smile on their face,
and then hand them a piece of paper to sign saying I did my
good deed for the week.

now some of you hearing this are thinking,
“ ***, she's such a great person. she hands out homeless bags ”
you my friend have missed the entire point of this Poem.
no, I'm not
I'm A PERSON
I would be an, “ awesome person, ”
if I  dedicated my whole life To charity
or if I cured something.
if you cure cancer you are a hero
if you feed a whole Community you are a hero
if you actually risk your life for someone you are a hero
and we should all strive to be heroes everyday.

I'm not trying to degrade the awesome things people do
and have done
like that little boy in the starfish story should get Praise,
In This Day in age
I'm saying that in the alternate reality where everyone does
what humans are meant to do,
community service is done like eating food
not like something to brag about at church
not like something to add to a resume
it's not like... community service.

#service #spokenword #charity #society

Oct 2017

girl diffused

life lessons

I will tell my daughters

always come home to yourself

your worth is not only in your body

it is in your spirit, the stardust

flecked across your skin

I will tell my sons

never become a wolf

never devour flesh

and forget a woman’s name

say her name like a prayer

cry oceans and taste saltwater on your lips

for when you break and fall

you can rebuild and stand

for that is how you both will learn to love

It just starts when they're young and they begin to imprint. Start early.
Start the right way.

#empowerment #blackgirls #blackwomen #afrocentric #inner #beauty #blackmen #values

Oct 2017

Cheyenne

Im the girl.....

What do you see in me
Do you see a smiling girl?
A smart girl?
A girl who loves to sing?
A girl who always knows how to make you laugh?
Or who knows what your going to say?
A girl you can tell everything to?
A girl who sees the good in the world?
Who sees nature differently?
Who sees purity in the dark?
Someone who knows how to fly?
What if I told you...
I'm the girl who goes on crying for days...
I'm the girl who does school work 6 hours straight,afraid to fail....
I'm the girl who poors out her feelings in song because no one can hear my words...
Who only makes you laugh so she doesn't cry...
Who knows what you will say because she remembers every one of your words afraid they will be your last...
I'm the girl who listens to your problems so she doesn't have to live through hers...
Who sees the good so she can chase away the bad...
Who wishes she could be a bird that way she'd finally be free...
I'm the girl who is the dark so she picks out the purity because she wishes to be that light...
I'm the girl who only knows how to fly because I'm scared to fall...
Do you still see those things in me?
Am I still that never ending joyful person?

#dark #pain #fear #see #live #love #leave #real #joy #lost

Bella Oct 2017

Technology

I really like the idea of a week without technology
it sounds great
it sounds like practicing what I preach
like actually spending time in the real world
the thing is, if I put down my phone…

you see I'm a very loving person
so I surround myself with people who need loving
I open myself up to anyone and everyone so they see me
as an Open Door
one they don't have to knock on upon entering
I open myself up as a pick-me-up,
as a first or last resort
as a…

people these days, they act fast.
if they ask you a question and you don't respond within a few minutes,
they make up their mind.
people are no longer patient
they make life-altering decisions in a matter of minutes
so if I don't pick up my phone…

if I don't pick up my phone,
someone cut Herself
someone could **** Himself
I could be the person they call before they do it.
maybe I could have taken their hand off the trigger,
convince them to throw out there razor,
in this day and age, it isn't safe... to put my phone down!

#suicide #technology #worry #unsure

Bella Oct 2017

When I Love You

When I Love You-
you’ll know it.
I’ll hand myself over like a bird.
you’ll have to care for me,
because I can break.
you can crush me, in your hands, if you want
but I-am trusting
I am not-naive
no,
I know what COULD happen
I am loving,
because in spite of it,
I hand myself over.

When I Love You-
you’ll know it.
I will become a collection of all your lost parts.
I will continue organizing your memories until I am your own
     personal encyclopedia
your secrets I will share with no one
your fears
your likes and dislikes
your history
no one
you, and only you, will have the key.

When I Love You-
you’ll know it.
I’ll sing a song of “I love you’s”
because the thought of you not knowing that I do
scares me-
more than anything.
ok-
Almost-anything

When I Love You-
you’ll know it.
because of that one thing that I am so scared of
I’m scared when you’re all gone.
when I’m not near anyone I love it really really scares me
and this has effected my actions and personality so, that…

When I Love You-
you’ll know it.
because I will cling to any part of you that I can hold onto
and when I’m not doing that,
I will grab your arm
or your hand
or touch your cheek shoulder something anything
because I am reaching past your skin
through your muscle
the heat of your body is not what I am craving
it is more than the touch of your skin I am looking for
I need your soul.
to hear the words that language can not form,
the connection…

Haven’t you ever touched someone,
and heard a story?
heard the words you needed to hear
felt safe?
not because the skin you are touching is strong,
not because you know it will protect you
just because,
you’re touching it
you’re hearing their story
because their words surround you like a blanket.
they block everything else out.

So when I touch you-
when I Love You,
please don’t run away so fast.
let me hear your story.
let me feel safe.
because no matter how long it’s actually been,
a month
a year
to me
it was an eternity
of being in the cold
of being in the snow-
without my blanket…

               I don’t know... why I am like this,
               why I…
               Love, like, this
               but I promise you,
               when I Love You-
               you’ll know it.

This was not written for a romantic type of love, while it can apply to that type as well, it was written for many different people.

#love #spokenword #affection #friendship #fears

Bella Oct 2017

Peaches

I keep finding peaches
Peaches
I don't think it's possible to not smile when you say the word
they turn my cheeks the same color as their skin
it makes me grin and laugh to see them sunbathing on the banister
lining the window sills like shining trophies
on my porch like children climbing to Set upon the tallest object They can find
beaming as children do

Maybe it's cuz I grew up in the south
Knowing you have to set them out And wait for them to be soft to
     the touch
let them ripen in the Sun so you can then pick your fruit that up
     until now has been forbidden
it's like a little fuzzy ball of gold Sunshine warming your face and
     your mouth
I love the word peaches

maybe it's the memory,
the name,
Peaches
“chin up, peaches”
it carrie's such an innocence such a light-hearted, free-spirited
     happiness.
something warm and welcoming and something I could only find at home

maybe it's the breakfast
peaches and cream
three ingredients
so happy, so creamy, so sweet, smooth, summary, comforting
it's what my grandma would give me
so sugary, yet so filling
it reminds me of her
it tastes how she act
it is her hyperbole
peaches and cream is a grandmother
it's as sweet as her voice
as comforting as her touch
as filling as her hug
and as smooth as her skin.

maybe it's all three
either way
this time of Peach field windowsills will come again next year
and the year after that
and the year after that
until I am the grandmother they represent
and every year, I will smile.

I wrote this in peach seasoned, if you couldn't tell and as silly and stupid as it sounds peaches bring back beautiful memories for me. I tried to convey some of those memories in this poem, such as they're embodiment of my grandmother (who makes me that dish to this day).

#peaches #memories #happy #grandma #spokenword #metaphor #summer #childhood