Poems

Grandmother

Posted on by A. Long

I hadn’t asked her much,

just how she felt,

and she told me all about her day,

and how she’d washed the sheets,

and how she could not understand

why the towel got so heavy

when it was wet.

She’d also sunned the mattresses,

such tired bones and so much to do,

and my eyes filled with tears

when I thought of how I was simply

going to say “Salaam” (peace) and walk away

and so many words would have been

trapped inside her.

I would have passed by as if

what lay between those bedclothes

was just old life

and not really my grandmother.

–by Sameeneh Shirazie

Farewell

Posted on by A. Long

Maybe on graduation day

I’ll sit there

with my last moments as a student

comforting the soul in my lap

Courage will kick up in my chest

and I’ll wave good-bye to this place,

The known.

I might baby step

Or barrel roll

Or nonchalantly tip my cap

to all you have made me

then stroll into the future’s night

With all the cares in the world

chalk up the deuces

and bid farewell

as I smile at my useless euphemisms

attempting not to cry

tears of apprehension

sadness

or joy

I’ve sipped joe with the Josies

and learned from the best

For all I am grateful

Now…onto face the rest.

Mother How Could I?

Posted on by A. Long

Mother how could I not care for you?1b69894131c6a9d6ea2ad7f6674030bc

when my pamper was soiled
my nose had a sniffle
or there was a rasp in my voice you took care of me.

Mother how could I be rude to you?
when in my most vulnerable state
9 months you allowed me to grow through you.

Mother how could I not fight for you?
when push came to shove
you showed me love
and went to bat for me.
Mother I would lay down my life for you.

Mother how could I not make room for you?
if you wanted to live in the sky
I’d take the sun
remove the stars and the moon for you.

Mother how could I not show you compassion?
when it came to your love
it was not only shown through words
but in action.

Mother how could I ever be a fool?
when twice a day you drove
from south philly to germantown
just to get me to school
along with my lil brother too.

Mother how could my love for you be conditional?
when you made sure I had all I needed and more
cook, cleaned and ironed
til yah hands, back and neck were sore.
and still I beckoned for more?

Mother how could I not apologize for my trasgressions?
when as a child, you never spared me the rod
and taught me all my lessons.

Mother it was YOU who taught me to be a man
and though i have grown
in dark times I still search for your hand
for your guidance.

So Mother how could I not be loyal?
when your love for me
is like water to heat
thus it boils.

Mother how could I not hold you in memory?
when seeing you smile brings me the greatest joy
YOU are everything good in me.

Mother these words amount to nothing
compared to the gifts you have given me.
You will ALWAYS be the QUEEN of my HEART.
Lose love for you?

Mother How Could I?

–by (k)onscience

Mom’s Roses

Posted on by A. Long

images (8)Forces of Zeus and Hera couldn’t stop this tragedy

She felt the stars

Exhilaration of fast cars

excitements of a plane crash, stereo blast

she hung her hair down

her drink up

always looking for her next cup

9 months with me must have caused withdraws

Now she lay passed out on the floor

The angry, the mad in me hadn’t even begun to subside

When the bottle hit her lips

The one I tried to hide

Here she’ll lay, still cold

and the day grows old

weary of staring at the figure on the tile

Gatorade made to fuel her adrenaline

has become her death regimen

as it stained the floor under her dead hands

her blood was thicker than water

thinner than her liquor

Will my will be strong enough to not consider following in her footsteps

My heart is racing, quick reps

I can’t stop the beating

my morals are eating my mind away

insanity

My mom was foolish, it will never happen to me

no hospitals hangovers headaches institutions

My life won’t be ruined by this dream

Retreat from the reality that surrounds me

My mom is dead and it haunts me

As Banquo is to Macbeth, she taunts me

Laying on the floor, sitting in his chair

He’s there, she’s there

Can’t you see can’t you see

it’s all on me it’s all on me

it’s my fault im wrong

I should turn and walk away from her addictive Gatorade

But it will take away the pain

Though it takes me to a place

strange aesthetic plane

I’m in a sliver between Earth and space, closer to her heaven

Did i commit a deadly seven?

Maybe two or three because I envy her gluttony towards the bottle

Every swallow I take from the first sip leaves me hollow

On the tile here i lie

my flower withered and died

The world looks so tall and i feel so small

from this angle on the floor

is this what she saw before her guilty spirit soared, convicted

I her soul’s witness

lived the life i testified against

criticized it, realize that

I’m the victim, victimized by her lies

Why didn’t she rise and get up at the very least

All I want is peace

The sound of her hitting the ground to cease.download (1)

International & Travel Poems, Poems

The Prison Cell

Quote | Posted on by A. Long

The Prison Cell

It is possible especially now

To ride a horse

Inside a prison cell

And run away…

It is possible for prison walls

To disappear,

For the cell to become a distant land

The prison guard got angry.

He put an end to the dialogue

He said he didn’t care for poetry,

And bolted the door of my cell.

 

He came back to see me

–Where did all this water come from?

–I brought it from the Nile.

–And the trees?

–From the orchards of Damascus.

–And the music?

–From my heartbeat.

 

The prison guard got mad,

But returned in the evening

–Where did this moon come from?

–From the nights of Baghdad.

–And the wine?

–From the vineyards of Algiers.

–And this freedom?

–From the chain you tied me with last night.

 

The prison guard grew so sad…

He begged me to give him back

His freedom.

by Mahmud Darwish, Palestine

Translated and abridged by Ben Bennani

Inspired by Tracy Chapman

Posted on by A. Long

You’re car wasn’t fast

it was slow

enough for me to flow

into the first flowers of spring, rushing past the window

We were cruising ships in the sun

driving in your car

no jackets just warmth & conversation

Down the avenue to anywhere me & you

navigating pitfalls, the roads in the holes in the road

We’re travelling 

sometimes faster

spinning with every angry piston

SHHH Listen to the power purring in this engine

moving us along in your car

barreling towards the future

Feel like I could be somebody to love in here 

watching the world passing

 

Kissing Thighs

Posted on by A. Long

I surmise that my thighs have separation anxiety

When I stand they shake hands vigorously

when I walk they rub

with enough electricity to jump start a car battery

The intensity of long distance lovers wrapped in denim

the fabric is in between

so they undo every stitch

every strand is rubbed away clean

until they are reunited

I have gone through more pairs of pants than an NFL team

What should I do

separate them and walk with a gap, no, that would be mean

I’ve got thick milkshake fat bottomed thighs that love to touch

a plight

 that most people don’t hear about much

They’d span oceans, tidal waves

 valleys and caves to be closer

build camp and then start a fire

My curvy hips swish as they share a dry kiss

blissfully

unaware of my agony

I can’t even wear shorts without them embracing each other

slamming like cogs in a wheel made of rubber

My hips are wide enough to birth mountain diamonds and destroy skinny jeans               

but

i would have it no other way

because they bend like cheek skin around smiling dimples  

they spread like mozzarella on warm bread

Tongue twisting finger licking mango dippin lollipop thighs

good enough to eat

Indicative of 522 years of finely crafted frames mixed with thousands of my ancestors

queens, peasants, and Zulu warriors

The inspiration for the original coke bottle shape

back when my grandmother rocked the hip-huggers and a sophisticated gait

This one’s for every girl that’s had to jump up and down just to pull your pants up to the waist

with no room to waste

between those

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kissing thighs.