sometimes i wish
you'd see beyond
the color of my eyes
and the cloth wrapped around my head

i wish you would
think of me as an individual
put away my appearance
and regard me as a person

my thoughts matter
my ideas aren't all bad
i have opinions
and i choose to speak my mind
if only you would
listen to my words
and try to comprehend what i'm saying
rather than focusing on my accent
and the way my lips curve when i speak

the cloth on my head
does not rid me of ideas
it does not limit my mental capabilities
it does not lower my tolerance
have a debate with me
spark a conversation
instead of complimenting my smile
compliment my mind
instead of assuming that my beliefs are enforced upon me
ask me what i believe
ask me what i value

tell me what you base your morals on
question me
give me counterarguments
talk to me
instead of staring at me
and making biased assumptions
already concluding who i am
and where i come from
before you've even
said hello!

i am not just the color of my skin
i am not just the size of my thighs
i am not just the design of my clothes
i am not just the price of my purse
i am not just the pattern of my headscarf
i am not just the length of my nails
i am not just a body

i am a mind
i am a heart
i am a soul

i am my theories
i am my thoughts
i am my perceptions
i am my opinions
i am my viewpoints
i am my objectives
i am my purpose
i am my outlooks
i am my intentions
i am my reasons
i am my perspectives
i am my choices
i am my principles
i am my ideologies

i am a thinking, feeling, living, stimulated, motivated, inspired being

i've got a world inside of me
take a look see
before you choose to pass judgment on me.

On this morning,
where the road's
reflecting gold

I think of all the
promises I've
made myself,
the sun, a draping
curtain over daybreak

and I wrap a scarf
around my neck
and hold my bony
hands
against my heart

It's October and
I've learned to love
myself again.

After a night of paradise
Love flowing from the very walls
Music flowing from my body
Onto the dance floor
As sensual as ***, yet with only eyes upon me
No touching,
just the deliciousness of looking,
with emotions touched
as the eyes understand,
Something understood without talking
After a night of love like this
You really  know how to gut me out
leave me empty, my insides spilled
like shattered glass
upon the floor
ready to cut those who walk upon it.
My heart , clear as glass,
beats upon that floor, hoping you'll pick it up.
I love you to no end, and I know you love me.
We will be okay.
But in the meantime my heart beats twofold:
Once, upon the steaming platforms of love
Where my body moves in perfect rhythms
Once, on a bed of shards
Where every move may mean a cut.

cemeteries worn
delicately fall on chests

like grandmother's old necklaces

and inscriptions from headstones
draped in cold bronze

bought and sold, their epitaphs

like grandmother's old word

her lovely verbs

swathed in gold,

and ever were costly rhinestones weaved in

until every meaning to her lovely words were lost.

My beauty isn't all it appears to be,
Look into my eyes, and tell me what you see
A little love, a little mystery, a little of everything
A little love, a little mystery, a little of everything
It's mine and it's ours are not the same thing.

I want coffee, and you want tea
The heart knows what it wants,
And the hearts want a connection,
instead of a stent surgery.

Love, trust, surrender and peace follow in this order
Love is confusing, love is a thief
Look into my eyes, or read my tea leaves
Love, trust, surrender and
Peace, follow in this order.

ı.

Oňċє ѧ pєѧsѧňţ
Noɰ ѧ ҡıňɢ;
Bєċѧusє sһє һѧţһ ʟєţ mє
Iňţo һєя Ԁяєѧm's.


©Brandon Nagley
©Lonesome poets poetry
©Earl jane nagley dedicated ( Filipino rose)