There's talk of redemption
in crowded halls,
and as they adjust the dial
there's an addendum.
hard to tell
just who is right
although everyone knows
who is wrong.
no doorway in sight
in this mirror funhouse,
but the poor have TV's now
isn't that nice?

Lily Kesha Gump

Sittin' on the curb of Bronx and Main Street

How I wish I could wrap my arms around you

Sweet little lady, lookin’ grown with a picture of her mama’s stare frozen on her face

Wrists slung through the spaces of her thighs, waiting for a daydream

And she sees me as I’m twirling by in my ruby reds and thigh high leather grace



There you go darlin,

She says to me  

Scoring on my indigo smile

She bites men to sleep

With the crevices of her curves

As her voice weakens wicked

she pulls me out of my gloom



There you go darlin,

She says to me

With a time bomb ticking

On my pain pain pain

And the pen is in my hand

Before she even leaves my sight



I love this city

I love these women

I love their shoes

I love their smiles

Cheeky little laughs  



Someone once recommended

When I was dancing under the shades of a neon lamp  

From Homeless to Harvard

by a woman named Liz or Marie

Or maybe I read the title off of a screen
when I walking with Maryanne on north Peachtree street


And I remember


Lily Kesha Gump

How I wish I could wrap my arms around you

And give you the life some white woman

who doesn’t even know you

Thinks you desire.

All customers are required to wear a mask
except
Steve, Yuri, Pablo, Kevin, John, Roy, Bill

All customers are required to wear a mask
except
Mary, Irina, Maria, Karen, Joyce, Tasha, Jill

All customers are required to wear a mask
except
my cousin, my uncle, my grandma, my dad, me, all our dears

All customers are required to wear a mask
except
those we deem immune from our fears

All customers are required to wear a mask
except
when it's inconvenient and uncomfortable to confront others

All customers are required to wear a mask
except
when we're too busy burying our mothers and brothers

"Our people don't build fences"
and so
I didn't learn boundaries

"Our women don't talk like that"
and so
I didn't speak up

"Our children are always nice"
and so
I didn't learn where it was healthy to store my rage

"Our family doesn't do things like that"
and so
I didn't have the courage to try at times

"Our roots are here"
and so
I didn't leave with confidence

But....

I built boundaries
and so
I healed

I spoke up
and so
I healed

I raged
and so
I healed

I tried
and so
I healed

I left
and so
I healed

A lack of care, consideration and desire runs deep within our skin
A clash of cultures leaves me wondering which bin do I fall in
You try to work the friendships that look similar so they win
But it’s often the ones from a foreign land who treat you like a king

I never read your letter.
I can’t bring myself
to confront the sting of
budding,
simmering
Regret.
I can’t bear to
part the veil which shields
my failures from my
body,
from my lips
and legs
to listless
hours
spent
avoiding variables;
violent
vestiges
I ignore to keep
my weary eyes
above water.
See, reality wrinkles
its nose at the fantasies my insanity
can concoct
when I’ve yet to find a reason
to chase you away.
When the tethers of my grip
have yet to give way to anxiety, leaving me to wonder
if I feel too happy,
look too good,
want far more than what
my karma will allow.
I never read your letter, as I’ve been
consumed with playing
dress-up, draped in finery and fixtures
fit to outshine all the glow of
unshed tears
under pulsing
neon
light.
I'll coax it open it yesterday, but never tonight.

Now I’ve...
Already Done Said It... !!!

Some Peoples’ Work Ethic...
Is... TRULY PATHETIC... !!!!!

And YET THEY...
Seem To Want CREDIT... ?!?

For The Way That They...
Choose To Work Away...
In Their Day To Day...

But They Need To REFRAIN...
From Making CLAIMS... !!!!
That Their Ethics SWAY...
To Having NO DELAY...
In Being... GREAT... !!!!!!

I’ve Said It BEFORE...
And … I’m Now SURE...
That I Will Say It AGAIN... !!!

The CLAIMS Some Make...
Are Those That Display...
... A Crying SHAME... !!!

That DENIES BLAME... !!!
Or Morals That AIM...
At Doing The Things...
That They’re QUICK To Say...

That Their Work Ethics...
Display In Their Ways... !!!

Like... MORALITY...
That I Have To Say SADLY... !!!

Defines Well ……….
... TRAGEDIES... !!!

WITHOUT Gaddafi... !!!
Or Morals That Gladly...
Choose To Be MANLY...
In... How They Move...

Like Doing EXACTLY...
What They Say They’ll Do... !!!

Instead of Move BADLY...
Like The Moves of FOOLS...
Who NEED Ethics School... !!!

The Type That INFUSE...
Being Able To PROVE...

Rather Than INCLUDE...
The Type of ETHICS..
That Should Be REFUSED... !!!

BELIEVE Me It’s TRUE...
of These INDUSTRY CREWS... !!!

Like Those Who CHOOSE...
To Make Those Tunes...
And QUALITY GROOVES...
In... Studio Rooms...

And Those In Booths...
Where Their Voices Croon...
Or Drop Rap Tunes...

I’ve Seen It Here...
I’ve Seen It There...

In Places Where...
The Caribbean Sun...
Makes Working HARD...
And... FAR From FUN... !!!

When Working OUTSIDE...
When The Sun Is HIGH...
Can... Burn Ya HIDE... !!!

That’s Right Ya BACKSIDE...
When There Are CLEAR SKIES... !!!

I’ve Also Seen THIS Stuff...
Run In... ENGLAND... !!!

Where Moral Codes...
When It Comes To Work Zones...
Have INCREDIBLY... SHOWN... !?!

That... RACISM...
Doesn’t Even Get SHUNNED...
When It Is... BLATANT... !!!

Because Moral Ethics...
Are A RARITY... !!!

In ALL KINDS of Scenes...
Where People Now Be... !!!
It’s... AMAZING To See...
That HUMANITY In TWENTY TWENTY... !!!

Has The Type of … Ethics...
That Are WORSE Than Testy... !!!

Deserving NO CREDIT... !!!
Because They Are MESSY...!!!

And Winning NO TITLES... !!!
Cos' They're NOTHING Like Lionel's... !!!

Whose Ethics Have Shown...
How They REALLY Should Roll... !!!

Barcelona Now KNOWS... !!!
That His Ethics Are Those...
That Are Worthy of GOLD...
Just Like RONALDINHO'S... !!!

Cos The Ethics HE Showed... !!!
ALSO... Did AMAZE... !!!
In HIS Playing Days... !!!!!

And Those Are The Type...
I Display In The Rhymes...
That I Now Sit And Write...

In Volumes And VOLUMES...
With Ethics That Choose...
To Yes REJECT NONSENSE... !!!

Cos My Ethics... HOVER ………..
... WAY ABOVE Problems... !!!

Because My Form of Soccer...
Shoots Just Like Revolvers...
And Drones Used As Bombers... !!!

And As For These Coppers... !!!

Their Ethics Are SHOCKERS...
That Require NO WORDS...
Because They’re ABSURD... !?!

UNLIKE Spoken Word Verse...
That Comes From Big Virge... !!!

That Yes DESERVES CREDIT... !!!
For NOT BEING PATHETIC... !!!

Because It's EXPRESSIVE...
And Somewhat Impressive...
Because It's... INJECTED...
With HIGH MORAL Values...
And Being AUTHENTIC... !!!

Which Is Why It's ALIGNED To...

...... DISCIPLINED.....

........... “ ETHICS “.......... !!!

To my soul, aspire to be immortal
& exhaust all things possible, be
selfish & ruin death of it’s act.
To the soul find out what makes
existence worth the trouble.
But my soul, dare not become
a God nor muse.