Select poems from My Life Is No Balloon Ride
I Refuse To Be Anybody's Whore
I refuse to be anybody's whore.
Respect me.
Respect my body.
I am all woman - black woman at that.
I will stand up and be proud.
I have toiled through many trials
and accomplished much.
Why should I defame my character and destroy my self-image
to be your one night stand?
Gold means nothing!
Words of endearment, mean nothing!
You have to love me to the degree
which I feel is sufficient.
If you cannot love me, you can leave.
I'm not known for compromising
and negotiating my standards.
I am an assertive woman,
strong and courageous.
If you are too big a man to acknowledge my standards,
stare at me from a distance,
but do not dare touch.
You may lick your lips
and imagine yourself loving me,
but you'll never come close enough
that I may feel the very breath from your nostrils.
My judgement is keen.
My words are razor sharp.
My anger cannot be matched.
Respect me or be consumed
by the fire of my fury.
Treat me justly or risk a punishment
great enough for ten men to bear.
My tongue is golden. I cannot lie.
My body is strong. It cannot be made weak.
My standards are high
and cannot be compromised.
Comply or be gone.
I refuse to be anybody's whore!
I Am Free
I wish to put all my past doings behind me,
where they belong.
The mistakes I’ve made and the battles I’ve lost are not things I wish to remember.
I’ve learned from all mistakes made
I can now move on to accomplish great things.
I don’t need to carry any unnecessary loads upon my back, nor do I need any chains and shackles upon my feet.
I’ll dump my load, which is my heavy conscience, into the sea, to be drowned by the strength of the crashing waves.
I’ll loose my chains, which are my gloomy thoughts, and throw them into the deepest, darkest pit, to be rained on and left to wither in the cold.
As I part this road of shattered dreams and desolate hopes, I do not look back.
My eyes are forever directed forward,
that I may peer into the future.
Diligently watchful am I.
For that is where my good fortune lies.
I Wonder If I Know How To Smile
Sometimes I wonder if I know how to smile.
My lips look as though they can bend.
But when I touch them, they're straight.
No matter how funny something is
or how much I enjoy it, I cannot smile.
Places that are fun to others,
do not make me smile.
Sorrow is my best friend.
Gloom is my neighbor.
Childhood. What childhood?
I grew up fast and learned the things at age seven that only an adult should know.
The children smiled. But I had no friends.
The teacher smiled. But I felt no comfort.
The sun shined. But it never thawed my icy heart. It rained. But the water never quenched my thirst. It only blended in with my tears.
Sad was I.
Sad am I still.
I wonder if I know how to smile.
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