Did you prefer her perfume over mine?

Bare vanilla shimmer.

Was there a softness to her that I didn’t have?



I had a sweet tooth for broken guys.

Maybe I made you feel strong.



Would you have loved us both forever?

If I never thought to ask for “more”



I never knew who really was the other woman

You loved her first,

but I loved you more.



We were caught in a whirlpool,

but I would have drowned for you.



I’m still coughing up water,

from the last time we kissed.



Did you take my fire home to her?

Did you burn her down with the matches you used on me?


Did you ever call her my name?

Did you think of me while she was in your arms?



Your reasons were so desperate,

begging me to stay

Even when you wanted me to go.


Your promises came with asterisks.

You wanted me... but only sometimes

and honestly, not for forever.



I learned to lean into the chaos,

into your roller coaster of emotions.

I thought that loving you

was worth losing myself.



Idiotic fool.


It’s been six months since I spoke to you.

It’s been 4 months since you tried calling last.



I’d like to think

that I’m finally clean.



But a small part of me misses the madness.

The colors.

The secret language.

I miss the feeling of falling in love

for the first time.


But it’s not supposed to feel like drowning.


A.

Set the alarm
Lock the doors
Lock the windows
Lock the shutters
Find the cricket bat – “put it by your bed”
Say goodnight to mom and dad

Although young, not naïve
I knew every night had the possibility of being my last

A routine that is now muscle memory.

Fear –
You may think
But life –
Normal for me.

Wake up
Turn off the alarm
Unlock the doors
Open the windows
Open the shutters
Put the cricket bat in the cupboard

Never being able to be left alone at home. Unwillingly dragged from store to store.

But – that’s the thing –
People don’t know the real Her,
They know the exquisite scenery, the unforgettable wildlife
They don’t know… But I do.
Because She is my home
Because being in constant fear for my life –
is normal.

Confused –
What do I tell people about Mother when they ask?
The person who raised me, taught me how to be grateful, how to ride a bike,         how to love.
Do I tell them? Will I scare them?

Although hidden beneath the tyranny – I would say –
the bloodshed
the faces of malnourished children left for dead on the side of the road the poverty struck soil the corruption      the greed the hunger the death the separation of class and race

Although a place feared –
Africa.

My Africa –
Whose sunshine you feel ignited in your soul
My Africa –
Whose smile is irresistibly contagious
My Africa –
Whose heart lies in the grassy terrain
The golden dunes of sand
The never-ending mountain tops
My Africa –
Who is the heart of various people
           cultures
   languages
          All who call Her home.
She is –
Where my heart lies even if I am thousands of miles away
Where my mind wanders from day to day.

Her air, instantly calls you
Her smell, instantly smelt
Welcoming you ever so dearly –
      Home.

Like all good mothers,
She is the one who can handle both the tranquil and turmoil,
the love and war.

She is my home. She is who I fear of disappointing.

My Africa –
is beautiful.

the founder of Facebook
is swimming in bucks galore
and given that he's so financial
unto him one does implore

please donate two and a half thou
to Hello Poetry
as the site is seeking some freshly
picked dollar greenery

the money will be spent on
a mobile app
so the members can utilize
its inputting tap

Mr Zuckerberg please contact
the webmaster Eliot York
indicating the funding your
credit card is fit to fork

Describe me in a few words
What do I mean to you?
To what degree am I a priority,
and where do I stand?
Am I memorable?
What color do I inspire?
Am I the torrent of an ocean?
Or blunt as a knife?
Do I carry weight like my mother?
Or am I the shimmer of an ephemeral birdsong?
I just want you to know
I am willing

No wonder the world is falling apart
Superman no longer has access to a phone booth

Why should you really strain my freedom?
Never prayed for much
Never wished for less
Why should my fellow sister do your chores?
You are always outdoors
While they wipe your ***** floors
Too lazy to work
You forced my fellow brother to labor
He totally left home and I lost a neighbor

Discriminated against
Pampered with racist insults my hand can’t prevent
Blood dropping with my instinct pulse
The feeling of power made you forget to respect yours adults
I waited on society for results
But In return I received a bag full of insults.

I ask why you should strain my freedom
Should I always stay silent?
While you keep on being as violent
Would my request be as granted?

All I ask for is freedom
Paradise stop
The sound from my furthers flop
Please unchain my Africans as you let them hop with joy

.
In house made warm letters run,
Bright poems let, in winter sun—
The dreams of day a lively school,
As songbirds gleam at vernal pools,
Apparitions of youth— fly in and go,
A love blew held in wings, undertow,
Little things now steeping with peace,
Cloudy thoughts set aflame, released,
A lost woman revisioned— unknown,
Is conjured, screening real as a poem.