2 Years Into My 20s

Ari Lennox fine as hell

Why is it that most of what I’ve “learned” about black people, involved their death and demise.

Where’s the classes talking about the Victories and Celebration of Blackness?

The success and discoveries of black people

The strength and perseverance of black people

I know it’s out there

Why haven’t I found it?

Why isn’t it offered in my area?

Why do I have to be the change I wanna see

Why must I bear the weight or seeking my identity

Why do I need to search and dig through the articles and history books to find facts

Why

Then I just have to sit in a pool of sentences and swim

Drown

Tread

Live in pools of sentences

And stand up and see what’s stuck

What I can take with me

And what I can let wash over me

But I had to find the pool

I had to decide if it was okay to dive in

Idk who created this pool

Idk who’s sentenced these are

But they’re what I have

They’re all I can look to.

Till I create my own pools

With my own waves

For the white person who wants to know how to be my friend

by Pat Parker

The first thing you do is to forget that i’m Black.

Second, you must never forget that i’m Black.

You should be able to dig Aretha,

but don’t play her every time i come over.

And if you decide to play Beethoven – don’t tell me

his life story. They made us take music appreciation too.

Eat soul food if you like it,

but don’t expect me to locate your restaurants

or cook it for you.

And if some Black person insults you,

mugs you, rapes your sister, rapes you,

rips your house, or is just being an ass –

please, do not apologize to me

for wanting to do them bodily harm.

It makes me wonder if you’re foolish.

And even if you really believe Blacks are better lovers than

whites – don’t tell me. I start thinking of charging stud fees.

In other words – if you really want to be my friend – don’t

make a labor of it. I’m lazy.

Remember. 🤨🤨🖤🖤

For the entire month of April aka Black Women’s Poetry and Prose month. I’m sharing the work of women who have healed my heart, nurtured my mind and fed my spirit with their words. I have to admit that even as a voracious reader it took me a minute to understand and feel the purpose and passion of poetry. Often I found it confusing and underwhelming. I wanted characters, story, plot, but then I dug deeper and read more and more, I learned to treasure it for the art that it is, poetry is a moment in time, it’s a feeling, a mood, it’s deep, it’s playful, it’s memoir and commentary, it’s so many things at once, it’s patois, creole, slang, it’s protest, its prayer, it’s soul, it is NOT a luxury, there are no rules, it’s an excellent vehicle of expressing a singular idea, a method for causing controversy and tectonic shifts, it’s slick talking goodness and Black women reign supreme.

More to come…….

Ask, Seek, knock

I belive that art is life

Whatever you do in life you put into your art

Whatever life throws at you,

You use it to influence your art.

My life is art

I want to change the world

through my art

When the resources are right in front of me

When the opportunity has presented itself to give me the best way and means possible to do just that

I snatch it.

I have asked

I have sought

And I have knocked on any door I think has something for me behind it.

I can’t talk about wanting opportunities and then when they arise not taking advantage of them

You cannot see the door pop up and then sit and talk about what a beautiful door it is.

You cannot talk about all the things this door could do

You have to knock on it

And get whats on the other side

You have to knock

You have to knock

You have to knock

Knock knock knock knock knock knock

I take whatever I have asked for.

I claim all the blessings that are for me

It’s frustrating to see part of your blessing is out of your control

But it’s not gonna stop me from doing what I have to do to claim my rewards

I speed and I shall reap

What God has for me

it is for me

Im a 90s baby, a 2000s teen, and a now N*gga

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