rain in midtown

Just outside Grand Central Station,
I am pushing through the crowds
Between the walls of glass and stone
below a sky that's free of clouds.

When on my cheek I feel a drop,
away, I wipe it like a hair,
look in puzzlement at the sky
and continue on to Pershing Square.

I feel another droplet fall,
hit cold and wet upon my arm
like icy little pins they start
and each one fills me with alarm.

The sky still far and clear and blue
reflects its light on mirrored tower.
No one is reaching for umbrellas
in preparation for the coming shower.

Along Madison Avenue
the rain begins to pour.
It soaks through my ivory blouse
and chills me to my very core.

But on the street, not one looks up,
their heads and clothes stay dry.
As puddles forms inside my shoes
bike messengers and business men go by.

My hair is sticking to my face.
Water is collecting by my feet.
Make-up is running from my eyes
as I turn right on 38th St.

The flood begins on the corner
when the streetlights change to red.
Waves of water rush past cabs
and splash into the traffic ahead.

The rainwater rises but no one cares.
They walk unfazed below the tide
as I choke on liquid, gasp for breath
praying for the waters to subside.

I struggle to hold to the building's side
As the waters continue to rise.
My fingers slip, I fall below,
hands reaching up to clear blue skies.

Below the surface, the water's cold
it's iciness numbs my fear.
I close my eyes to fall asleep.
I hope nobody finds me here.

Changing (Leaves)

In moves the crispness of autumn nights,
leaving behind yellow days
for the heavy scent of decaying leaves
and unanswered questions.

Ruby maples shed their weight
to be naked in time for winter’s frost.
Aspen leaves skitter across the pavement
to give me a golden road to nowhere.

Arid land turns muddy earth
under clear blue but chilly skies.
Does the old Oak fear change?
I’m too scared to ask.

My poem

My poem is unfinished.
The lines don't rhyme
and the meters all wrong
but it is still a work in progress.
I'm still looking for the words,
trying to find the right meaning
to say a lifetime.
So maybe the end is unknown
and the middle is unwritten
but I think I know just where to start
Here...
is were it begins.
A life of prose to grow with me
from these humble beginnings.
My poem is unfinished.

Ballerina

Name a song
I’ll sing to it
in front of crowds or
just the room
but
while the records turning
and loneliness is singing
I think I am a ballerina
and I let the music
mold me, move
My limbs into graceful
arcs and coils

Name a song
I’ll play it
my fingers moves so
quickly cross the board
but
all I’ve ever wanted is
is to dance with poise
instead of clumsy plunking
Or cracking voice.
Let the melody control me,
while I dance alone.

Wind Words

(A Lilibonelle)

I strain my ears to hear wind words.
Off in the distance Midnight tolls.
An echo carried on the wind
To lock our hearts and free our souls.

Off in the distance Midnight tolls.
Yet no clock tower lies in view.
Time is up for me I see
Too many ticks and tocks too few.

An echo carried on the wind,
It is a whisper through bare trees.
"Hurry child, tarry no more,"
Time is crying. I will appease.

To lock our heart and free our souls,
I see no gold and red winged birds.
My feet stay frozen to the ground,
I strain my ears to hear wind words.

Karma

Did I think it would be easy?
Just a simple change for the best.
How could I aim to change my world
Without pain, without sacrifice, without regret.

It goes around, it comes around
My past, my future and fate.
Lift me up or break me down,
I'll build me back again.
Karma cannot keep me down
I'll rise up once again.

Did you think I would give in?
Just simply throw it all away.
How couldn't you see the strength in me
With all this pain, and sacrifice and regret.

It goes around, it comes around
My past, my future and fate.
Lift me up or break me down,
I'll build me back again.
Karma cannot keep me down
I'll rise up once again.

Did it all turn out okay?
Simple just an ending sigh.
How I can't wait to see the triumph here
Despite bygone pain, sacrifice regret.

Yellowwood Road

I watch the ground move
Beneath my feet.
Over my head,
A sky that would have brought me to tears.
I miss it.
Diligently, I map the ground.
Staying where it's solid,
Don't veer off this concrete sidewalk.
Quickly, I move, so diligently.
The destinations blurred
Losing sight of my surroundings
Joylessly, I stay the course, so diligently, so quickly.
As the seasons change.
This is not where I want to be.
The leaves fall
The snow falls
And I f
a
l
l...
Spring, pick me up again.
Gladly, I find my way, so carefree, so slowly.
Through brush and marsh and earthly land
To find my way on my own
Alone, alone
The ground, the sky.

Catalyst

Check out this equation
The end product is a lesson
But I'm stuck in a steady state
And I'm dying for a catalyst.
Friends see me crying for a reaction.
They long to help me by.
Can't start bubbling like this
Sorry, take that thing away.
Add no heat in this solution
And I've already been stirred up.
Holding me still
Freeze me, melt me,
In this stationary beaker
All I want is a little catalyst.
In the end I won't be elemental.
Mix it up,
Drop in friends,
Live my life while I change.
I can't speed this simple process
stuck without my lovely catalyst
To heat me up
Stir me up
I'm bubbling up.
Such a simple elixir
To bring me simple joys.

Wet Paint

You see the sign that says wet paint

I am.

A work in progress

Almost dry

But not

Quite

Yet.

You see the sign that says wet paint

I am.

You long to touch

Leave your mark

But I

Can fix

the smudge.

You see the sign that says wet paint

I am.

Remember, remember this

Think of your wish.
Remember, remember this.
See nature at your doorstep
With a hunger to ask for more.
Know that sunrises are more precious
when you tend to wake-up late.
Believe that belly-laughs are powerful
Enough to break down walls.
Embrace your large family tightly.
All are brothers, summer sisters now.
Understand that love is never waning
as you give it free as breath.
Hold on to this in those dark nights,
Being so far from this home.
When the questions seal your lips
Think of your wish.
Remember, remember this.

Amandla

Paint my mantra on your wrist
to transform the current view
of my weakness in your eyes.
You won't question when I'm through.

Sing Amandla, in a foreign tongue
Hear a chant from long ago
Amandla, memeza amandla!
The seeds of strength I sow

Welcome to my free-land.
Grow grace, pick peace, plant power
To stand up to fear and submission,
A law for hope and not cower.

Sing Amandla, a lover's cry
Dance in the flame of calling
Amandla, memeza amandla!
Through time of trouble falling

Until my declaration dies
among the embers of the past
My grip is unwaivering.
Amandla iculo ami at last.

Poison Rationality

In times like these, Fate chips me,
Whittles away my fortitude,
Bit by stubborn bit of self-resilience.
O, to learn what freedom is
And allow it to fall,
But I am too strong.
I curse my tight grip,
I rue my intensity,
And I hate my might.
Take back your burden!
I carry enough for ten,
Yet you push on more
When I still carry my own.
Doom, you are a cruel tyrant
And Fate, you are a blind lover.
Release me from my duty of strength,
That's leading me to hate.
I haven't known liberty
Since I've known life.
My stomach burns acid,
My heart aches blood and
My brain leaks poison rationality.
Too much, O please, too much.
I do not know what is worse:
The electric-dull pain
Or knowing I will be just fine
If only my eyes would cry.

Evolution

Look backwards through the microscope

A world of bigger things
Or to the blind of naked eye
My gene to code for wings.