What Are You Trying to Prove?
"Every time I get sick, it feels like God is telling me to slow down and reevaluate my intentions. Recently, I’ve been asking myself: What am I trying to prove? Am I falling into the same patterns of overdoing it, trying to 'do it big' instead of focusing on the simple, meaningful parts of my work? If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in the cycle of striving, ask yourself this: Who does this action serve?"
OUR SELF-LOVE IS REVOLUTIONARY!
In a world that often challenges our worth, self-love becomes a radical act of defiance. My poem, "Our Self-Love is Revolutionary!", celebrates the quiet strength and resilience of melanated beings. Through each smile and every embrace of self, we reclaim our power and write our own narrative.
EMERALD, RUBY & GOLD (Poem)
In my mid-life years,
I savor their stories from the past —
hit ‘Record’ when I can
or type notes furiously.
This is how I keep my parents alive
for eternity.
I venerate my parents
while they are still here on earth
to add ease to my ancestral practice
for future me.
Future generations will know their names,
and through their children,
their legacy.
From Busy to Well: How Cancer Taught Me to Truly Live
Cancer forced my life into stillness. In that quiet, I noticed the silence of artistic colleagues who knew I was sick but never reached out. I felt the emptiness of achievements that once seemed so important when my health was on the line. Slowly, I shifted my focus inward, learning to embrace the profound value of family and spirituality over the external validation I once chased.
IF ONLY WE KNEW WE WERE STARS (Poem)
It took the possibility of death to start loving me. Plus a dash of radical honesty, a splash of holy water in the form of tears
Overcoming Self-Doubt
I asked myself, “Am I too late? Did I wait too long to start this plan or this journey?”
A thought immediately came to my mind:
“Girl, how are going to be late to your own life?”
MY 40th BIRTHDAY (Poem)
The transformation from
my skin being “oily”
to it now being “glowy”
October 26, 2019
For my dear, childhood friend, Farrah's wedding.
I feared going down to Sealy, Texas,
too close to where Sandra Bland
transitioned from woman to martyr.
MY DADDY TURNED 80 (Poem)
I thank you for living,
for continuing to fight,
for modeling what true love looks like.
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE (Poem)
When I called the pig detective
for an update about my case,
he said
“Oh, no one called to tell you?
There was insufficient evidence…
WILL WE FINALLY KNOW? (Poem)
Will Diddy “take that” karma for running wild?
Will women finally be believed?
Will little Black girls choose books over bussdown weaves?
GRASP WISELY (Poem)
Take pleasure in the fact that
you survived,
that what meant to kill you failed
miserably.
GIVE THANKS (Poem)
Be grateful for
soft, warm flesh on chests, for
God-given armor guarding hearts, for
nipples that get hard when cold.
BLACK GIRL FLY (Poem)
If you watch and listen,
I’ll teach you how to spin faster than
thunder claps through tumors,
leap and land lighter than liberation.
DIARY ENTRY from June 17, 2024
Anger is my birthright,
but so is peace.
I remind myself
of the highest version of me,
slowly morph into her
PRODUCTIVITY IS A FORM OF STRUGGLE
Productivity is a form of struggle
when it forces one to ignore their needs
to achieve the vision of a corporation.
