The Chicago Tribune editors in an article ask
What rhymes with lithium -ion battery
Challenging poets to address this awesome task.
Why, it is better than winning a lottery
It allows me, says the poet, to roam
By plugging into a socket at home.

The article described the surge and Electric vehicle production
expected in the next 10 to 20 years. In a playful aside
they asked how writers of songs find words to rhyme with battery.

Celebrate versatility, of every ethnicity
Un-marginalise, break social exclusion, transcending illusions
A streaming subject that runs deep
Of chemical appliance, let go of the defiance
Un-tick the boxes, esteeming all, tear down the walls
A part of applauded appearances, let it go, let it be
Yield the root of the matter

Is it about good or bad? Or embracing what you have
With gratitude be glad
Set your own standards and expectations
The representational, be sensational
A headed glory, create your own story
To raise or lay down, finding YOU – be found
Twists, dreads, braids, outer beauty fades

Curly, wavy, straight, close the divide
No preference of side
No greater pick, fine, medium, thick
Long, medium or short, in spite of what is bought
Towards evolution, be your own solution
Of the inner voice, your personal choice
Hair is a journey, whether late or early

Whether young or old, inner value can’t be sold
In the midst of society, establish your priority
Of inner health, let that become your wealth
Accept yourself
Taken chances, of blessed finances
No worse or better, be your own trend setter
There’s every kind of beautiful, un-throne the judge

Unborn fears, traced back through the years
Your personal connotation, comprehend the relation
The way to be true, find your inner you
Of yours, of mine, hair does not define
Of no preference, a walk beyond difference
Inner realisations, natural formations
To tame for fame

Behold victory, realise your history
Un-ravelled vanity, embrace humanity

Written by Geraldine Taylor ©️

I will begin on the plains of your abdomen,
gently tracing their rise and fall
as breath enters and escapes your lips
noticing like mountain dew,
how sweat begins to glisten on your skin

And moving up toward your northern exposure
I’lll scale your round, soft mountains,
achingly slowly yet steady just the same
while you beg me
to reach the sensitive peaks
But twirling just around them,
refusing your demand to bite,
and leaving two soft kisses where
a flag would otherwise stand

Then charting a course around either side
of your most golden coast,
instead gently running my fingers
(with ice held between them)
down your peninsulas,
toward the straights of your inner thighs
across the narrows that lay behind your knees
And though you spread your geography
to create an inlet to your ocean,
I will instead continue to attend to
the peninsulas’ ends,
greatly in need of attention
as they’ve carried your land
from place to place without complaint

Then rolling the landscape asunder
And revealing your southern exposure to the sky
I’ll gently explore your heart shaped dunes,
Soft yet firm, causing a vibration in the ground
as you express your approval with the progress
of the expedition

Moving on to the edges and ridges of your
so strong back, your femininity pronounced only more so
by how strong and broad your shoulders,
I’ll hold and rub them firm, thankful for the place
upon which my head at times will rest

And finally, the last frontier of this journey
The soft sweet center of your landscape
like swollen earth between my lips,
and then our hips like rolling hills
An earthquake slowly building
tectonic plates shifting out of place
until the world begins to shudder,
the room shake, and then fall silent
as our two bodies remain as one
while drifting off to explorations
found among our dreams


(National Pornographic was the alternative name)