dear brown skin

I wish I couldn’t tell where your skin begin and mine end
Because india arie made it sound so good
But your brown skin
is over there with that white woman
so ima get me some of this Mexican

I hope you don’t mind.

You see I would love
Little chocolate milk duds
But you want to entertain thoughts of light skin babies with good hair
You say it’s just for now to sow your wild oats
and sooner or later
you’ll be ready to settle down with your Nubian princess
well I’m a queen and I won’t be waiting around for you young prince
by the time you’re looking for me
my brown skin is going to be real happy with my Mexican, Domican, Puerto Rican
preparing for light skin babies with good hair
I hope you don’t mind

With love,
Brown skin

sometimes things like this happen

when you dance
i dance pirouettes and pliés
tap and hip hop
meringue and cha cha
magnifying the circles you spin by 7 because I can see your potential and am moved by it
when you walk
i run, sprint miles at a time
complete decathlons and master the high jump because your stature is olympic
when you speak
i sing operatic tones of melodic notes with scales and runs riddled with vibrato
because your voice can command thousands and captivate millions
when you sleep
i lie comatose through rem after rem dreaming of van gogh circles and poppy fields
and when you wake you bring me back to life because I only exist in worlds where dreams can be lived
when you love
i love
i love
i love you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i wish i met you first
before i loved him or thought i knew what love was before i was in love with you

i wish i met you first
before i pledged my life to him without knowing my heart had already been pledged to another

i wish i had known that my love could be like or mere infatuation when all along i thought my love for him was more than physical sensation

but now i know you and know what love is meant to be
now i know you and know that youre in love with me
now i know you and wish that all i had with him was yours

but...i met him first

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

you know what im in the mood for?
sex
now dont get it twisted
im not saying i get it
but are you telling me you never craved something you hadnt had?
are you telling me that no one hyped ice cream up before your first time?
you know what im in the mood for?
crack
because even though ive never done drugs
i know you dealt
and your kisses were so addictive
i could just imagine how a junkie felt
you know what im in the mood for?
anchovies and doritios
im not really a fish person
but id eat as many of them sh*ts necessary
to have you back with me
you know what im in the mood for?
you
i dont want fish and chips or a pharmaceutical high
i want you to be my high
you know what im in the mood for?
im in the mood for you
im in the mood for you
im in the mood for you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus taught in spoken word
i just want to be like Him
not to say that I can be Jesus
no.
just to say i'd like to be Christ-like
and teach you
not to say that i could teach you anything
that can give you life eternally
no.
just to say that i'd like to teach you something
that'd stay with you eternally

Jesus spoke His words in love
I want to speak to you lovingly
not to say that anything i say to you could compare to His love
no.
just to say that you have my heart and i love you

Jesus walked with hundreds and fed thousands spiritually
i want to feed and walk with you
not to say that i could give you companionship or spiritual nourishment
that is in anyway comparable to His
no.
just to say, i'd try
try to cook you up some of the best soul food
or food for your soul possible
without selling mine

what i am trying to say is i love Jesus
and He loves me too
but i am driven to think that He wouldn't have brought you into my life
if i wasn't meant to love you like i do

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i wish i were a poet
at least then i could write with depth
i could fill the pages of this 'poetry book'
with words that were more than 'poetic'
with words that can change worlds
words that alter realities
turn days to night
and bring dreams to light

i wish i were a poet
so that i could do with words what farrakhan attempted with a million men
so that i could convey through diction what peter did with his sword
so that i could show with my tongue what spike lee directed in 4 little girls

i wish i were a poet
so that i could move people, penetrate ears, and speak truth
at levels of silence
screaming at the top of my lungs
with the humility of speechlessness
the redundancy of repetition
in the brevity of originality

i wish i were a poet
so that

i wish i were a poet
so that i wouldn't have to speak

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

to my friend.
i love you.
we should be.
more than this.
more than friends.
but if friends
is our reality
then im content.
because we're here.
we're here together.
as just friends.