if this surgery goes wrong...

i leave you my tongue
the weapon i wielded most
it will protect you from the
night, the shadows and like

i leave you my forearm
the branch that protected
our friends. our family perched
underneath, they will always
smell like this. rub cocoa butter
on the stretchmarks. they tend
to itch when anxious. don't blame
them for their ugly. it isn't their
fault.

i leave you my eyes. so much
has been viewed with them. keep
them close to your heart. they'll
never lie, even when they should.

i leave you my right hand. she's a
beautiful creature. she's my greatest
gift, next to you. joy released from
her fingertips like yellow tulips. she is
spring time, like your smile. she will
never fail you.

MAHOGANY NEEDS HELP FOR FOOT SURGERY

Mahogany needs money for foot surgery on May 30th!!
That's less than 2 weeks.

She is a full time artist and doesn't have health insurance.
So if you would like to donate to the cause and can afford as little
as $5 click here! please

barely here

give me 10 days.
i promise, i'll tell no lies

cooke said

sang of a change coming. and you never really feel the current of this change
until something big and bloody happens.

so much has happened. i wrote 30 poems in 30 days. i had a birthday celebration in miami.
i am preparing for my daughter to graduate primary school. i am preparing for my sister
to marry. sean bell's killers were acquitted. my foot is back in a soft cast. there are no surprises like these left in the world for me. until the cyclone of burma. then the finishing of the men's anthology "barbershop chronicles." and now. this. i was accepted into the cave canem summer retreat. it is a week-long workshop for african-american poets and has been led by the likes of patricia smith, rita dove, kwame dawes, lucille clifton, nztoke shange and sooooooo many more greats.

it feels that current is moving a different direction. one that allows me to walk about with
more hope into my step. a smile on my face at times. when i trick myself into thinking of life
without all the pain and disappointment attached. breath me in. tell me if you can feel it too.