It’s the most wonderful time of the year, y’all. April 1st marks the beginning of National Poetry Writing Month, where poets around the United States write and share a poem a day for 30 days using the prompts on www.napowrimo.net

I am taking up the challenge again. Here’s my poem for Day 1:

PRESENT IN THIS—

By Farah Lawal Harris, 2024

You could never be me.

First, you’d have to

update your vocabulary.  See,

I speak unique, eat and drink

words for breakfast and aperitif

they’re nutrient-dense and fiber-rich.

I’m nouveau riche,

top 10 percent,

MoCo girl, Nigerian,

called bougie and “stuck up” as an insult.

But each time, I just laughed it off.

Babe, you can’t burn me with my own tea.

I know who I am.

I know who I am.

Present in this moment—wait.

Present in this mo—

Present in this—

I can’t finish the sentence

without “now” becoming “back then”

which is why I don’t dwell in the past.

I pluck the lessons, learn quick-fast

but never in a hurry.

This life ain’t fail-pass.

Put down the syllabus for a moment.

God ain’t grading this class.

You wanna know how I relaxed?

I started loving instead of punishing

and tension knots started vanishing.

Learned breathing, welcomed grieving,

started believing that everything

works out for my good,

that it’s okay to be misunderstood,

that some battles are hard-fought.

My good acts are not for naught.

My legacy will never be forgot.

I am not a person

I am an embodied soul—

Spirit-led, disciplined, swimming in

sparkling waters then laying in

warm Sun with closed lids

and outstretched hands.

A voice in the salt-scented wind whispers—

perhaps my Orí, or maybe ancestors.

A smile only I can smile forms on my lips.