Poetic Fridays

Love Used to Live Here

Love used to live here

But now it’s gone.

Oh, Don’t fret for me,

I’m fine without it.

Or so I thought.



Love chewed me up and spit me out.

Had me calling it by another name.

Had me searching for it in the highest plain.



Had me thinking I had found it.

Weak when I lost it.

Terrified when it reappeared

And flabbergasted when I heard it’s call.



Love used to live here.

Deep in my heart.

Between my thighs and in the crease of my back I could feel it’s touch.

I could see it in the eyes of others

I could hear it whispered in the wind.



Love used to live here

but now its gone.

It rode away on it’s red chariot and gave no apologies for it’s abrupt departure.

Yet, I still yearn for it.

I still look for it in the daytime with a flashlight.

I still hope that I can capture it’s essence in the purest form.



I’m still searching for it.

Rip my heart out again, it might, but if I can just get a quick taste of that

all encompassing

unconditional

undeniable,

unrelenting,

ever-evolving,

knee weaking

thing they call love again,

I will welcome it with open arms.

 
By: Brighter Future
 
Now it's your turn!  Share some of your poetic genius!

Today is International Literacy Day

“September 8 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. Celebrations take place around the world [1].


Some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.” (Reference source is wikipedia)

In celebration of International Literacy Day, I encourage everybody to pick up a book, magazine, newspaper, journal, or visit your favorite site and get to reading. 

I don’t think I understood the importance of reading to children until my child began to struggle with it early on in school. I thought I had given him all the tools he needed to be successful but how could I have done so when I failed to read to him every day?!?!? He no longer struggles with reading but there are millions of children and adults who do all across the world.

I wouldn’t be doing my duty as an aspiring author if I didn’t promote and encourage every single person to read. It truly is fundamental! Can you imagine having to sign your name to a document but you have no clue what is says? Can you imagine being the child in school who is scared to read aloud because of fear that other children will laugh at you?

It’s never too late to learn how to read. I encourage you to volunteer for organizations in your community that promote literacy. If you don’t have time to volunteer donate a couple of dollars towards the enrichment of people within your community. Not knowing how to read is like not knowing the joy of freedom. You are literally chained and bound by what other people are willing to tell you. It was not so long ago that we were fighting for equal education. Now we are afforded the same opportunities as everyone else. Let’s not take it for granted. When you can read, you open up a whole world of opportunity and understanding.

“A mind is a terrible thing to waste”



Happy Reading!

Poetic Fridays

Outline of A Man

If I were an artist I would sketch the perfect man.


He would have eyes that could see through me to that bit of insecurity my heart still carries.

He would have the fortitude to seek it out and erase any traces of it’s presence

He would have arms strong enough to bear my weight when I am too weak to tarry.

Yet gentle enough to hold me in an embrace that could cast away my worry.

His legs would lead me to places I was too scared to travel alone.

Yet, they would have the dexterity to always bring him home.

His brain would possess the knowledge of a 1000 wise men.

Lessons taught so long ago.

And enough wisdom to know when to leave well enough alone.



Inside his heart would be the will of a leader

Who has enough discretion to know when he must follow.

The courage of a gladiator, who will not accept defeat in time of battle.

Compassion of a mother for a child without a home.

The humility of a begger in search of something to call his own.

The ability to make a commitment without knowing what the future holds.

A monogamous being with tunnel vision to my soul.



Love to him would be a buried treasure and he the pirate of the voyage.

Setting his course towards a destiny in spite of the inevitable storm.

The Jack Sparrow of my heart, key guarded with his life.

Eros must have been a conduit for you; giving you an implacable thirst for my nectar.



Doesn’t matter the hue, I would color you iridescently in me amour.

Filling in open spaces with humor, spirituality, and self-assurance

Until you are……

my hearts vision of love.





Brighter Future

Who is Responsible for Our Future?

Every day I shake my head at the songs played on the radio, the way our children dress, the way they speak, and the way they behave in public. It saddens me to see how little pride and dignity some of our children possess.


Most of us, myself included, see the problem, shake our heads, and keep right on walking as if scared to say something for fear they will retaliate or simply dismiss what we have to say.

Well, I’ve reached my breaking point!

It is our responsibility to show our children the way. Not just the ones who share your dna but the little boy up the street who is using more curse words in one sentence than you have used in your entire life, or the little girl at the mall who’s skirt is so short that nothing is left to the imagination, or the group of kids gathering around in a circle for a fight.

I can never remember where this quote came from but it says, “We have to be the change we want to see”. We see something different everyday that disturbs us whether it be the stories in the news, the television shows our children watch, the videos on Bet, the role models our children choose to follow, the slang we speak; etc. (Check out my brothers at www.staychiseled.com and get the males perspective on some of these issues.)

We can no longer bit our tongues and shake our heads at our children. It really does take a village to raise a child, so it’s time for us to start being the village rather than the spectators who simply watch it implode.

Our children need to realize that the way they carry themselves in public does not just represent who they are but it reflects on our race as a whole. Although the burden may not be fair, it’s real. Society will continue to judge us according to what they see and hear. It is up to us to make sure that what they hear is intelligence and what they see is our pride.

We constantly complain about how all they show of us on the news is the negative…….well we have to write our own stories and create our own images. We have to erase the negative and replace it with a positive so that the media will have no option but to report us as we truly are…..Proud, Responsible, Upstanding, Educated, Respectable, African American brothers and sisters.

I’m making a commitment to take time out from now on to speak life into our children. I am making the commitment to stop the next little girl I see using her body rather than her brain. I am making the commitment to stop the next little boy that’s lost his way. What will you commit to? Who do you think is responsible for our future?

Wake up Everybody!!!!

I Have a Dream

Today marks the 47th Anniversary of the speech that will be played for years and years to come.  The speech that still has as much value today is it did 47 years ago.  I recently visited the Dr.Martin Luther King Jr Memorial while in Atlanta and emotions still run high when hearing and seeing the images and sounds of Dr.King's legacy.  May you forever rest in peace!  Thank you for the inspiration and the guiding light!
It is because of Dr.King and the men and women like him who came before us that we are able to make our dreams a reality.  Follow up post later today!

We're still Missing you Aaliyah!!

Yes, I can admit it.  I was one of those girls who stood in the mirror with my blinders on thinking I could be the next Aaliyah.  I did the dance moves and wore the bang over my right eye.    I even tried the boxer thing!  My mom didn't like that too much.  I tried but I could never compare.  You will forever be missed! May you continue to rest in peace!

I want that old school commitment with that new school love!

So on this past Saturday afternoon, I found myself watching my old favorite, Their Eyes were Watching God. You know the movie with Hallie Berry and that sexy ass Michael Ealy. (Whew, ok get back on topic Brighter) :-) Something stood out about that movie today that I hadn't noticed before. You see Hallie's character, Janie, married a man three times her age. That was actually the norm back in those days. An older man wanted a younger girl to help around the house and bear his children. Well, as she was helping him out in the field she reflected on her life and stated, "I was a proper wife, I'm still waiting for the love to begin!". Whoa!

After hearing that line I started to think about the dynamic of marriages from back then and the marriages of today. Huge difference! Now granted, Janie ended up leaving mista for the cool dude with the nice clothes and the white hankie but marriages back them lasted the test of time. Not saying I would want a loveless marriage, just saying that marriages took on a completely different nature and meaning.
Today we get married all doe eyed and in love but it doesn't last. Why is that?
I mean isn't the whole point of marriage to make a lifetime commitment to your partner. How is it that today love can exist in the union and it be over in the blink of an eye but back in the day love played no part (not initially anyway) and it last until somebody was called home to glory?

Check out some statistics:

Black marriage rate: 35% in 2002 (vs. 63% in 1950)
Children born IN wedlock: 25% (vs. 80% in 1960)

Crazy right?

My grandparents have been married for over 50 years and while I know for sure they have suffered great disappointments, tragedy, and hardship, they remain a unit. I don't think either could imagine a life without the other.

So like the title of the blog, what I want is the kinda marriage that will last inspite of us falling in and out of love, through the I love you but I don't like you phase, regardless of the money we make and the kinda house we live in, despite the cute girl next door giving him the eye, and through the differing opinions having to learn the skill of compromise.

Simply put, I want that old school commitment with that new school love!


http://www.bookerrising.net/2007/09/statistics-about-black-americans.html