Author: A. Long

Come Back

Posted on by A. Long

watching you leave is like burning an angels wings

bring water to the scorched place

where hope springs

Come back,

I think you forgot a kiss

your heart

your charger, glasses, burdens, house keys, phone,

head,

a lighter

a back rub

a hug

a plate of food

an embrace and a song

wrap it up in your pocket for later

when the out there slams your wrists

backs you into a corner

pilfering your happiness

Unfold what i have held for you

just like this

dab a little on your lips like sunshine

and let it soak in

remembering your space in here

where all the things you lay to rest

live.

–Ciane The Knight

This One Hair

Posted on by A. Long

this one hair is connected to the universe

this one hair forcing it’s way out of the back of my thigh

has unseen ties to the fabric of reality

this one hair back there is freaking me out

its coil is curling through space and time

i tried to shave it down but it grew back strong

i tried to pluck it and ended up unraveling ancient tapestries

it’s long and  thick

and perfectly isolated on an island of brown skin

i think the other day when i tugged at it, it growled at me

what hair is this

where did you even come from

did you escape from my nana’s mane or some other ancestry

if i destroy you will you bleed

or would the world unfold

little hair down there

tell me the secrets of dimensions and dark matter

let’s master creation together

since the length of your follicle i bet

is rooted at the foot of God’s kingdom

I Know My Soul

Posted on by A. Long

I plucked my soul out of its secret place,

And held it to the mirror of my eye,

To see it like a star against the sky,

A twitching body quivering in space,

A spark of passion shining on my face.

And I explored it to determine why

This awful key to my infinity

Conspires to rob me of sweet joy and grace.

And if the sign may not be fully read,

If I can comprehend but not control,

I need not gloom my days with futile dread,

Because I see a part and not the whole.

Contemplating the strange, I’m comforted

By this narcotic thought: I know my soul.

–Claude McKay

 

Find A Place To Touch

Posted on by A. Long

Tell me something I don’t know

dive deep into the honeycomb

excavate my secrets

lay me bare

give me more reasons to love you

Don’t touch there

that’s where the lies are buried

or here

or

anywhere really.

 

Africa

Posted on by A. Long

Thus she had lain

sugar cane sweet

deserts her hair

golden her feet

mountains her breasts

two Niles her tears

Thus she has lain

Black through the years.

Over the white seas

rime white and cold

brigands ungentled

icicle bold

took her young daughters

sold her strong sons

churched her with Jesus

bled her with guns.

Thus she has lain.

Now she is rising

remember her pain

remember the losses

her screams loud and vain

remember her riches

her history slain

now she is striding

although she had lain.

–Maya Angelou