Remember Me, My Harsh Teachers! (Part II)

Buds to blossoms, the words in my mind to any loose leaf/
Kick it rather Brucely for the first seconds to introdeuce me/
Escape to abstract, free of a lab-rat-a-mazing existence/
Barely make it around here, sure as a girdle is a miss-fit/
Intelligence redefined brings our entire diction into question/
My lingual's deeper than words, felt like prenatal expression/
Very much alive within, feeding off of the way we connect/
Umbilical direct deposit, check, my alma mater next/
A college veteran, survived while others died by papercuts/
As in, diploma opiates sedate folks to comas... say what?/
Tried to shoot me narcotics, restrained to desktops and tables/
Still opted out like a Net-Ready PC using fiber optic cables/
Into the matrix, numbers like the box office with no cubicles/
Digital world maneuvering, faster than a secretary's cuticles/
That's my type, so beautiful, I'm up at your job removing you/
It's human you, and fie on any greed who needs a new-improved/
Can't stop here, I'll take you... take you like your name was Amber/
Precious before glitz and glamour, fans love you in a distant manner/
I could gaze into your eyes in a way different than instant camera/
...Seems you've forgotten what this feels like, you advantaged amateur/

Run From Love!

Let your fears take the very feet from underneath you

And may your footsteps increase by multiples of two

As thoughts of commitment haunt your temporal soul

Like Baroque's fear of the void, love's bottomless hole

If you want your precious freedom, just outrun the light

Free to the darkness of your space, as is your right
No up or down, so you can never know all that is passing

No grounds for a standard to build something lasting

You and your priceless options... useless accessories
Run from love! It's safer when choice isn't a necessity
Love comes to rob you of your social importance

With your worth to just one, do away with concordance

Flee arms that would hold you, if you'd rather play tag

And wipe your crocodile tears with disposable rags
RUN!

Comedy House

To say I'm soft-spoken...
With the assumption that there's anything to say
Neglecting the courage it took to simply speak
Your purposeful radiance making me weak
We go through emotions as these never easily
Well, perhaps maybe you do; I'm less fortunate, see
I try, but my problem is that I'm once shy
Just once, and for all ever after
That's my story, and a cause for small laughter
But when the joke clears, still I'm up on the stand
And my next line doesn't fly until the punch lands
Do you understand? For me this is all a stage fright
Sitting here watching you watching me at amateur night

Express

How many times can I say it... MUST I say it
Before something, anything changes
I've already tried to face it, Really
But loving her is a reflex, Not a choice

I've missed my exit, but I can't turn around
My hands are tied, My feet are bound
To the back of a throttling train, Which is time
To put her behind, What a drag

Will I, For the rest of my life, Carry this wait
Knowing it's already too late
Sometimes, I would die for a clean slate
But indeed, what is my fate...

She's my number one tangent, In all conversation
My point of reference when asked, My preference
My favorite question, Submitted to Heaven
My expressway to inspiration

Meals to be Shared

As I walk around the quad, trying to find my way

So much on my mind, but no reason to say

'Cause my best friend has been off campus all day

For a doctor's appointment; I hope she's okay

I skipped the cafeteria and the breakfast prepared

The tables were too big, too many chairs

It would be too awkward with nobody there

Food is for eating, but meals to be shared

In the back of a classroom, the roll being called

Notebook on the desktop, my head to the wall

She'll be back this evening; it's late in the Fall

But despite her condition, she's in for the haul

So I'll be here to get her assignments and all
My first class conveniently right down the hall

Back at the dorm room, I check my messages

Roomie leaves for home, "Until next week then"

It's Friday: the staff is serving Mexican

I sit still on the futon; the sun is settling in

Cartoons on television give my day some color

Can't get this kind of animation hangin' with brothas

Still, my head nods, mind inching toward covers

Neverminding hunger; only my heart flutters

"I hope she's okay..." Then the telephone tweets

Any other time, I would probably cuss and retreat

But I leap to my feet , grab the receiver and greet

What happened to the sleep that awaited so sweet?

Upon hearing her chime, my instinct is to smile

But my concern for her heart defers it a while

I call her my sister... or is it my child

She's almost back on campus, just a few miles

I ask her her favorite toppings on a pizza

That is, if she hasn't already eaten

She answers she hasn't; I reply, "Me either

Get back on campus safely; later we'll meet up..."

"One bacon and ham and my usual please
Pepperoni, pineapple, regular cheese
And rush delivery, piping hot degrees
And money's no object; I'll cover the fees..."

It wasn't much later, she finally came
Welcomed as if preceded by fame
Happy as I was, I should've been 'shamed!
I remember the scene as mentally framed...

Too old for watching cartoons, maybe so
But I passed her the remote; she quickly said, "No"
So I smiled... but then asked, "How did it go"
She answered, "How should I know... the doctors are slow"

Her choice of words told me it was safe to laugh
No sense on a Friday doing any math
But I retrieved the notes that I got from her class
Wrote neatly for once to make sure she could pass

Then we joked and played, and talked about flames
Her crush from the Congo by foreign exchange
And my girl from Jordan, so pretty and strange
Me feeling that she was far out of my range

Like I needed to change, 'til she asked me, "What for?..."
---Interrupted by a few knocks at the door
Pizza delivery, on the money, of course
I returned and gave her a box, "That one's yours"

"The whole thing?" she asked, as the box aired
I thought it was so cute the way that she stared
"If this stomach's empty, I know nothing's in there
So you get no less than I'm getting... that's fair"
Must've been two hours or more we were paired
For food is to be eaten, but meals to be shared

Tell Me Sumn Fresh

A vocabulary needs new words
When everything you say I've already heard

It makes "I love you" sound so cliche
You always greet me with "How was your day"

On stage, talking quickly for umphasis
The onlookers buy it; mistake it for confidence

Profundity measured in word syllables
Elementary ideas, once we can reveal the code

(Sigh)

...It makes a life so long
You've heard everything if you've heard one song

Observe other sheep to know what to do
So, is it any wonder you won't try something new

If I may, might I take you by the hand
You could say "Never" and--- poof--- it's Peter Pan

A foot to the pedal, no matter how fast
Every race ties because we all run out of gas

I'd rather not contend, to be quiet honest
Strive to be goddess; this, however, is no Adonis

I was born to humanity... nothing more, simple
But we live such a fantasy that we don't know our potential

Planets, stars, moons to infinity
The sky is no limit if we can go beyond mentally

Plus, that's cliché to say anyway
Now more than ever, with spaceships to take us away

Does my speech intrigue you
No, it doesn't; never let the words lead you

It's only me, wrapped in diction
Don't be distracted by package; it's nothing gifted

What I'm really saying: it's all in the chest
Why don't you look inside yours and tell me sumn fresh

Honestly, Jesus... (A Christmas Poem)

When my friends weren't there...
But You made sure they were

When my family didn't care...
But You made sure they did

When I gave too much money...
But You gave me enough

When I was being used...
But You kept me useful

It's thanks to You
I was never alone
Therefore never lonely

And all the times my tongue slipped...
When I missed church...
When I complained...
I only learned the span of your embrace

I'm not in the Christmas spirit today...
My Christmas is EVERY day
And my calendar is long suspended

This isn't even Your real birthday, Ya know...
And I know this because of Your Word

And Your worth is not in your birth
But in Your death for our sins
Your resurrection for our justification

Yet, even in misconception we find grace
That brings families together for this day
That evokes a spirit of giving in all people
That causes love to abound all throughout

When I can't enjoy all the fun and festivity---
As the little child in my spirit is sickly---
I find joy and rest in knowing Someone
Who is truly something, indeed

I'll be calling on You again soon
As troubles never cease in this life
But, for THIS moment, all I have to say
Is, "Hallelujah! It's time for Christmas
All thanks to You, my truest Friend."