1 in a billion

7.6 billion people in the world,
secured that her options
are plenty vast,
holding off for the prototype,
than settling for another typecast.

Se7en to Zer0

Seven seconds.
It happened as he grazed back and forth throughout the room.
Eyes connected-
she was deafened,
by a catastrophic sonic boom.
This meekness of the soul;
she instantly liked his style.
And almost as if he could read her thoughts,
he flashed the most prettiest smile.

Seven minutes.
Tapping on the ice until it completely shattered and broke,
they spoke
and spoke.
As if they had
known each other
in a lifetime before.
As the night ended,
contacts were exchanged,
so this new territory they could further explore.

Seven days.
Good morning check ins,
hours were spent on the phone.
She liked everything about him
that he was making known.
That is,
until the calls were being
unanswered;
he was growing
distant.
She noticed through his inactions
he was becoming
comfortable with being
consistently inconsistent.

Seven years.
Diana Prince turned Wonder Woman,
she had to become her own hero.
Fickle prospects reminding her how quickly attraction can go from seven to zero.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

Aging is tricky,
the mind feels youthful but the
bones know otherwise.

Ball Game

I get it.
I'm often misunderstood,
and as long as I'm rolling in their direction,
then shit is all good.
But only for them,
because it's obvious they don't
wanna see me win
Like just when
I think I've had enough,
they find a way to hit me
with the politics stuff.
Looks like they want me
stuck,
to tuck
my pretty little tail between
these thick ol legs.
Massa likes it when we behave.

So what do you really want?
Was it not enough that I cried out,
"I'm drained."
Do I need to put on black face
and dance
to keep you entertained?
Chained
to a time clock that when
punched my lost is their gain.
Like a ball
rolling where I'm tossed,
dying to the uniformity of
their system.
Lost.

The Choice

Yet again he went off on another uncontrollable rant,
leaving her just as puzzled as a game show contestant.
Not a schizophrenic yet met with this voice in her head,
seducing her to be the woman who in these moments had said--

"Won't you just shut 👏🏾the👏🏾fuck👏🏾up! 
This is not a rerun episode of Press Your Luck.
And you for damn sure are no Peter Tomarken,
so do like a good pup and quiet down with all of this barking."

No longer comprehending,
his face told her he was livid.
While the voice she attempted to ignore was becoming more vivid.

"Sis, this is your one life so you better learn to live it.
He doesn't get to control us like this,
you should forbid it.
We have options don't let him convince you to settle for just one.
Snap the hell out of it and tell him that we're done!
The solution is easy, this was only a problem for Monty Hall.
You don't have to choose between a door,
when we possess the keys to them all."

Awakening to her senses,
she politely interrupted him in mid sentence.

"These fits are unnecessary and they've gone on for quite awhile,
Honey I am your woman and I refuse to continue to be treated as a child."

Now both with tears in their eyes, she took him by the hand,
And without a single blink she said this to her man--

"Your loss of control allows me to fly free,
but that doesn't mean in doing so I won't make room for you and for me.
I promised through marriage to give myself as your wife,
those vows didn't include you reigning completely over my life.
If you make me choose,
we'll both lose.
Game over,
that's it.
Just another couple,
adding to the divorce statistic.

Single Shenanigans

Dating Challenge 1:
Finding out you just met their
representative.

Strong Island

One thing's for sure when you grow up in the hood,
you're bound to come across no good niggas,
being up to no good.
Cat calling from corners,
that shit is just rude.
Then they wonder why NY women
have such a bad attitude.
But see there was this one dude,
he was different-- unlike the rest.
Up there rolling dice,
but somehow not trying to impress.
Guess,
you can say that's what caught my eye.
An innate swag,
he didn't have to try.
Broke from his boys to give me
the number to his beeper.
Before walking off,
told me could tell I was a keeper.
Yo I'm telling you on the outside looking in
you would've thought the scene had been staged.
Irregular heart palpitations when he pulled from his blunt and told me to use code
143 when I paged.
Like what kind of game,
this guy hardly knew my name.
Yeah he was a ruffneck
my friends and I all agreed,
and I've been hurt by others just like him,
so with him I decided to take heed.
I mean he pushed dope and sold weed,
and those kind of problems,
I absolutely did not need.
But when we would meet,
he was sweet.
And despite the naysayers,
when he was with me
like an onion,
he peeled back his layers.
Fell for me hard and honestly quite fast,
and as reluctant as I was,
I surprisingly had feelings for a man that could be caught standing up on
Straight Path.
Praying daily that this bad boy lifestyle
he would eventually stop,
but I knew sooner or later the other shoe was destined to drop.
Busted one day closing up shop,
my man got arrested and charged for dealing
to an undercover cop.
Left to converse through letters
he serves out his bid in jail,
sadly there's no such thing as a ghetto fairytale.
When you're from the hood perhaps you'll be fortunate enough to meet the one.
Just be sure he's ready to give up sitting on the block,
in order to stand with you
in the sun.

Trinity

A solution:
of peace and harmony.
That the sum of humanity
lies in the most simplest of forms.
Agape.

Speed Racer

It all started from his IG scrolling,
after a few dates,
these 2 were quickly rolling.
If anyone had asked,
from the looks of it,
they were headed nowhere fast.
Speeding.
It was obvious where this was
leading.
Speedy.
2 codependents in love,
they were needy.
Greedy,
for each other's time.
Crossed the line,
when they decided to move in together.
Being that close that soon,
made it difficult for them
to fair the weather.
Whether the other knew it or not,
they secretly began to desire some space.
Started running low on gas from this race.
An expensive lesson to learn,
that when your pedals to the medal,
you're bound to crash and burn.

Black Girl Lost 2018

Familiar sounds of an old squeaky mattress.
With him on top of her,
lied this broken thespian-- a sad actress.
Fake ecstasy from forced intimacy,
she lay paralyzed.
Wanting to be loved but only feeling
spiritually compromised.
Her biology receiving each of his deep thrust,
the sweat from their pressing bodies reminding her of this act of lust.
Condemning her for her inability to trust.
With him beside her she fell asleep on her back but awoke on her knees.
Praying out to God her soul pleaded, PLEASE!
Yo,
she had needs.
But none that could ever be met.
She was living a life full of regret.
Her panties stayed wet,
but her heart was completely dry.
Realizing in that moment it was time to give walking with Christ a try.
Without making a peep she quietly collected her clothes,
pulling the door behind her symbolically that path had been closed.
Took her life back from him and gave it to Him,
A black girl lost,
found herself once again.

Illuminate

Many may be called
but only a chosen few
will shine their brightest.

Imprisoned

She serves a sentence
of unrequited love cause
her type has a type.

Bodied

He preferred them thick.
Wanted her stacked like a house
made out of brick.
Something that when he hit
it,
it also hit back.
A Ms Fat Booty,
yeah,
he wanted that.
Said that real women,
well they jiggle baby,
got me over here
thinking maybe.
Perhaps he's been
curving for curves,
in order to take a woman
like me off reserve.
A fit thick chick with
just one chin.
A curvy delight
comfortable
within her own skin.

Deep End

Cause of death: drowning.
She dared him to take a dip,
he had no life vest.

No Strings

She wanted to fuck.
Liked the idea of being
tied up not tied down.

Golden Girls

Knowing you're worth your
weight in gold is true twenty
four karat magic.

Ride or Die

She embodied the souls of Gil Scott, Maya and Giovanni.
Intellectually spiritual,
we'll call her Bonnie.
Beats, rhymes and life flowed
through his blood.
There was hip hop in his stride.
Spiritually intellectual,
let's call him Clyde.
At their best when apart.
Together they created a beautiful mess.
A union without boundaries,
a love deemed as notoriously reckless.

Ballin' A Short Story

A Short Story

The day began with an ultimatum.
He was forced to decide between an us or a them.
Completely oblivious as to how its gotten this far.
He grabbed for his gym bag and headed for the car.
With keys in the ignition,
he couldn't believe all the accusations his wife had just mentioned.
Looking up in the rearview he caught the image of his own reflection.
And drifted away back to the day he promised to be her protection.

It was the first day of high school when he first laid eyes on her-- she was short and petite.
Standing a foot shorter than him,
she was covered by his godlike physique.
It was an instant connection as if their souls were destined to meet.
Best friends turned passionate lovers, wasn't long before their hearts ba-boomed at a synchrony beat.

Life as it does began to move along fast.
The decision to choose universities presented them both with different paths.
As star point guard he was becoming the best at his game.
Success, riches and guaranteed offers of fame.. yet at the same time this beautiful being he desired to give his last name.

For awhile it was good, he was able to manage it all.
Starting a new family and maintaining his passion for basketball.
Then gradually over the years the quality of his home time became less.
And each time she brought it to his attention the more it added to his stress.
A large house, cars, and all of the latest toys.
He couldn't understand how doing what he loved didn't bring his family the same joy.

The longer he sat parked in his driveway.
The sunset delivered memories of his favorite days.
Vividly he relived each and every smile.
Like the one his bride wore walking towards him down the aisle.
His, the day of his son's birth when he officially matured into a man.
And on the first day of school when his daughter refused to let loose of his hand.

In the brink of the moment came on the patio light.
Looking down at his jersey, he knew he had to make things right.
A champion with rings but none more important than the one that came with vows.
A decision was made-- an end to his internal whats, whys and hows.

Depending on who's playing to some ball may be life.
But in his game of love and basketball no one will ever take place before his children and his wife. -Infinity

Higher

Unafraid of heights,
she wanted a man that could
elevate her mind.

Come Closer

Why she's single summed
up in 5 short syllables--
His apprehension.

Say Cheese

Certain cultures believe that a photo can steal a piece of the human soul.
While this one now teaches us to willingly give ourselves away.
To do it for the gram,
in hopes of a shot at 15 seconds of fame someday.
Begging for attention just to be mentioned.
Maybe it's a lack of love or esteems,
Or we've created a new myth that believes this is what we must do to fulfill our dreams.

Couples Retreat

They wanted to try things a little differently.

Pulling up on the scene,
she was determined to take a break from their monotonous routine.

Blindfolded,
he could hear the sounds of her stilletos against the concrete.
From the car to the hotel room she guided him to take a seat.

Down one sense,
she stripped him of two others.
Hands tied and mouth covered
she denied him of all his druthers.

Literally scared stiff he stood fully erect.
Completely turned on by not knowing what to expect.

Growing more comfortable she likes this new game.
Confidently declaring "I'm gonna make you scream out my name."

A good girl gone ready she wanted to feel so much more.
To go from a lady in their everyday to tonight being her husband's whore.

Craving to feel him feel her she gently began to peel away the tape.
And all weekend long this couple enjoyed a much needed erotic escape.

Slow Jam

New lovers,
these two
vibing off the sounds
of old tunes.
Pulling her close
in her ear he
quietly croons.
Familiar souls,
these two
nostagically swept away
by the cadence of the beat.
Reminded of the day
they were fortunate
enough to meet.

Sweet tooth

Tonight,
I want to taste you.
Place you,
in my mouth
to fulfill this appetite.
I think I might
start by nibbling
your bottom lip.
Glide my hands up your thighs,
so your pants I can unzip.
Wanna suck on the tip
of your tongue.
And before its even begun,
make you plead
for it not to stop.
Tonight,
I want to lick your
sweet lollipop.

God's Hands

An oracle,
speaking prophetically
about the truths of tomorrow.
Times of great love and those
of bitter sorrow.

A kindred spirit,
lovingly guiding
the lost back to their authenticity.
For a complex mind finds
peace in simplicity.

A poet,
publicly sharing
intimate details from their journal.
Silencing voices to courageously
expose the internal.

Sprinter

It's insanity girl.
I'm telling you,
you're caught up in
a falsehood of extremes.
Running behind the devil,
disguised as man
in hopes he's the one from
your dreams.
Slow down girl.
Listen,
he's unworthy of your chase.
He'll leave you breathless
and exhausted
until you realize you've only
been running in place.

Battleground

Two sworded entities
battling within me to stay alive.
One desiring new things
that will undoubtedly
cause us to thrive.
The other,
comfortable in our discomfort,
stubbornly unwillingly to be changed.
A duel between duality
slowly making each part of us
a little more deranged.

Burn

You bring the heat but
it is him who is the flame.
He sets the fire.

Get Out

Unconscously,
you're stirring.
Stirring up emotions
just so casually like
mixing sugar into tea.
Awakening,
awakening the innermost
parts of me.
A single tear begins to run
down my face.
I'm falling,
Falling hypnotically
into the abyss of
your sunken place.