14 February 2015

The Love Project #14

*Note: I am failing at completing this project but that's good for me to know. Learn and grow. 

#14: Loving Love

I love love
I like the rush of discovery
The slow, methodical process of getting to know something new
I like the excitement of infatuation
The burn of desire
Holding love in my hands and heart
Throwing my head back with pure joy
The tingle of anticipation. 

I LOVE love
But I don't know if I've ever been in love
If I've ever fallen completely
Losing myself
But gaining something bigger
That's what I imagine it is
To truly love someone else

I l-o-v-e love
A long walk into endless conversation
A slow fall into a soft bed
Or someone's arms
Whispered voices under soft sheets
Warm limbs and lips
That is as close as I get to heaven

I love love
More than it loves me

04 February 2015

The Love Project #3: For the Love of Sleep

#3: For the Love of Sleep

I do it for the love of sleep
I run myself aground for the promise
Of eight unbroken hours
In my sanctuary
My bed

I sleep cocooned in the comforter
Of knowledge of days off and late sleep
I wake reluctant to rise
And quick to fall again into oblivion

I spent too many years forcing my eyes open
For tests and quizzes and facts
I can barely remember
Now nothing stands in the way of my sleep

I grind for myself
And rest when I must
Because I've earned the right
To show my love with contented snores
And no one can stop me

03 February 2015

The Love Project #2: A Love Letter to Ava

*I'm  already behind a day because I keep overbooking myself on my days off but ho-hum not going to stop the train because of a hiccup. 


#2: A Love Letter to Ava

How do you do it? 
How do you capture us
In all our hues and shades
Coloring us in so we are full

Sometimes it feels like our story
Is one long length of hardship
Re shaping itself into teardrops
But you shift that tide
Until we are riding waves of joy

When I look at your art
I see my great-great-grandfather
Born to slaves cum sharecroppers
Who sat with me and marveled at how I could read
At only 4
His face etched with lines like Cager Lee
Who couldn't vote until he was 84

I followed Maye as she waded through
The detritus of a loved one's life
And felt beaten down my own choices and
Fears writ large back at me
Staring into a picture of yourself
Scarily accurate and challenging
And not flinching
Thank you for that reflection

Adrift in the middle of nowhere
But buoyed by quiet moments
Bus rides across well-worn miles
Your art is the blessing of knowing you're not alone

Sometimes it is frustrating
Feeling as if nothing changes
The same images recycling us
Like we have no nuance or distinction
Running on the hamster wheel
A never ending winter of our discontent

Your art feels like spring buds
Reaching for sun rays on a cold day
A newness that puts our lives onscreen
In full technicolor and HD
Nothing is dimmed, dulled, or daunting
You show me the unwavering wholeness of myself
And I cannot turn away

01 February 2015

The Love Project



*Writer's Note: Full disclosure, I love this month. Generally, I always enjoy February. You've got Black History, unlimited chocolates, and I can wear red lipstick every day; but this year February feels even more special. Look at that month. All the days perfectly aligned and full. There's even a Friday the 13th in there for good measure. And because I'm so enamoured with this particular month, I'll be writing one "love" poem a day. Now L-O-V-E can mean lots of different things so I'll be exploring all of it. In honor of the Superbowl (and my Patriots being in it) my first poem is going to be about patriotism.