Author: A. Long

A Love Poem Written for Sterling Brown

Posted on by A. Long

(after reading a New York Times article about
a mummy kept preserved for about 300 years)

I’m gonna get me some mummy tape for your love
preserve it for 3000 years or more
I’m gonna let the world see you
tapping a blue shell dance of love
I’m gonna ride your love bareback
on totem poles
bear your image on mountains
turning in ocean sleep
string your sighs thru the rainbow
of old age.
In the midst of desert people and times
I’m gonna fly your red/eagle/laughter ‘cross the sky.

–Sonia Sanchez

Hey All!

Posted on by A. Long

Hey All!

I would just like to thank the followers of this blog for all the likes and comments last year. Hopefully 2015 will be even better.

That being said the site will be defaulted to acylme.wordpress.com temporarily while we improve our look for the new year.

Thanks so much for making The Poetry Corner a success!

To Know

Posted on by A. Long

The only way to eliminate stress and pain is to stop doing the things

that create it

It is easy to see what others do to us while we forgot the drama

we create for ourselves

How?

Take your pick:

The need to be right

Lack of life purpose

How we think others see you

Trying to fix the world

Dishonesty with self and others

Accepting someone else’s truth

Seeking material wealth over spiritual values

Doing it alone

My way is the right way

Fear of the future

Negative thought patterns

Trying to prove yourself to others

Anger over the past

Telling other people what to do.

 

It all boils down to “not knowing who we are.”

–Iyanla Vanzant, Acts Of Faith

 

 

The Ghetto Is A Silly Thing To Fear

Posted on by A. Long

The ghetto is a silly thing to fear

people scabbed into corners of buildings

trying to go on living

skeeved

you turn to run

suffocating on the scent of trash and weed

Loud music

we use it &

niggardly we

dance to the beat in the streets

shots ring hourly

like the clang of the Bell Of Liberty

ugly mugs hide

scarred childhoods

liberate yourself, leave if that’s all

you need to feel security

but believe you me

don’t think niggers

only reside

on the south side

of some city.

 

10 Things I Hate About You

Posted on by A. Long

I hate the way you talk to me,

and the way you cut your hair.

I hate the way you drive my car.

I hate it when you stare.

I hate your big dumb combat boots,

and the way you read my mind.

I hate you so much it makes me sick;

it even makes me rhyme.

I hate the way you’re always right.

I hate it when you lie.

I hate it when you make me laugh,

even worse when you make me cry.

I hate it when you’re not around,

and the fact that you didn’t call.

But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

–Kat Stratford, 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)