Pink Lattes and A Slice of Poundcake

You asked me to sing your song And my voice searches for your melody You sent me to your heart With a Tender word reached through time You made my heart jump When you sang a song beyond tomorrow into yesterday

In the measure of my soul, there is only space for you The handbreadth of time is where we exist Universe can not hold the width and height and depth Memory fills the being to overflowing unable to contain In the east and west of my spirit where the ruler lies

I drank a coffee and thought of you As the liquid cascaded down the inside of my soul The warmth of your memory filled my spirit I drank a hot apple cider and remembered a place Where sunshine rises over the water and casts a smiling glo Today I drank a cup of coffee and thought of you...and it is good

Yesterday you were the note in my heart's lyric Yesterday I could not sing without your rhythm in my soul Yesterday we were a string on the bow of love's symphony Yesterday ends and the song is unsung

Featuring an up and coming young poet. In this room I learned that the key to my future Is the struggles of my past Right in this room I learned that every one of my ancestors' beatings Waz for me to be free This day I learned even though we have a long way to go Never let your culture die The drums my ancestors beat Beats in our hearts The love our ancestors gave Still survives on this land We as African Americans Have to grasp onto it I learned right in my blood stream Lives the power of kinds and queens royalty Freedom fighters that were in nightmares Are now in heaven claiming their victory I learned in this room That freedom comes from knowledge The knowledge of my ancestors Never let your culture die Their knowledge lives on in us!

I woke up this morning and thoughts of you flooded my mind like the sunlight streaming through the window. There is a piece of my heart that belongs solely to you, you hold it forever. When I go to sleep tonight and the moon kisses my brow, I will close my eyes and see your face. You are my forever

I am pleased to welcome Janet Riehl to my blog today. We sat down to chat, writer to writer, about her recent work and more about some of the feelings behind the work. I met Janet Grace Riehl through an open mic sponsored by the St. Louis Writers Guild. St. Louis is sort of a small town, and so our paths continued to cross as writers. Today I’m one of the hosts on Janet’s two-month internet tour. You can see the entire calendar for the tour on Janet’s site Riehlife: Village Wisdom for the 21st Century The previous post on this tour was an interview with Eden Maxwell Janet’s 2006 book Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary is now an audio book titled “Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry and Music.” In addition to the 90 poems Janet reads from her book, these are interwoven with old-time music played in her father’s parlor, along with her father’s stories, and banter from the music session, giving us a complete context. Taye' Foster Bradshaw (Antona): How do you write? Tell me a lit

Hold my hand when my breath whispers the end of the story. Stay beside me and stroke my hair when my real me says it is time. Lean down and let your kiss gently caress my cheek when my eyes close forever. Touch my arm and let me feel the essence of our life when my spirit journeys away.

Looking out the window at the tall green tree, makes me wonder if you even notice me The other day you gave me a glimpse of your face, a moment of your time Then without notice you were gone, off to another without reference to we I'm not trying to bother you or even to whine Just wondering as the tree sways to and fro Are we together or should I just pack my bags and go?

Give you time you asked me How much time do you need What about when time runs out When will you be finished Give me time to show what you mean to me Taken from the Minnie Ripperton song What you asked me so long ago I've waited years, waited all day long How much time until you become we Give you time until time runs out All the years of waiting I just want to scream and shout There is no more time Time ran out

May you always yearn for her like sunrise desires morning May you crave him so deeply like moon hungers for night May you thirst for his touch like desert gulps the rain May you delight in her embrace like snow dances in winter May your today fill you to overflowing like wet covers the ocean May you dance the lovers dance like shadow twirls the night May you always love written for my cousin Thom and his bride Joy

The other day I thought about sunshine And it was you Remembering the warmth of your embrace Knowing the solace of your presence Feeling the glow in your welcome Wanting the heat of your embrace The other day I thought about sunshine And it was you

The rage I feel is like a fire in my soul It burns a red and yellow flickering threatening to consume me It refuses to cool down despite the watering of my tears

When tomorrow was yesterday and the hope was real I looked in your eyes and saw waves of time standing still When today was tomorrow and the canvass yet unmarked I held your hand and painted our dreams come true when yesterday was today and we lived in dashed memories I touched your face and wove together remnants of maybe When tomorrow is forever and holds the threads of our forever I kiss your lips and weave the promises of you

I look in the mirror and I see this woman staring back at me Who are you My sister, me I look in the mirror and see many women, many years, many lives and I wonder Is this me Who is this I see when I look out at tears and smiles, love and joy, pain and peace All my sisters and me Looking at me the sizes and shapes and the colors and cultures and it is true You are my sister and you are me

There was a primal scream so loud is shattered the chandelier overhead. Fists pummelled the stiff body lying in repose on the velvet cushions inside the polished mahogany. Utterances of anguish emerged from many decades of compliant silence. Unanswered prayers now to be buried in the heavy chamber of clay. Fury burned the eyes were widows tears should rest. Strong limbs enveloped heaving frame pulling back to life. Wells of unspent tears erupted like a levy broken flooding out unspent waters. Screams of rebuke to the sewn lips and penny shut eyes for the years of fire from a controlling tongue. Weeping and sobbing to heaving and breathing the clay to burn fury in hulking frame no more. Gentle touches and breezes to douse the pent up searing of the soul to be released for a tomorrow yet to be. Too much living lost waiting on the dying to end the chain that binds.

God Said Then Light Came Light to shine in the dark corner of memory where memory lurked in the shadow Light to coax out the heart tucked deep in the treasure chest of yesterday Light to search for the jewel buried deep in the blanket of treasures God said Then Light Came Light to guide the path to promise of the ever after Light to guide the feet to the giddy tomorrow Light to touch the hand that reaches cord for cord God said Then Light Came Light to open the door to the hope of a song of song Light to illuminate the melody of the voice of true Light to radiate the dwelling of essence God said Then Light Came Light to prove there is light and more light Light to say I am and you are and we be Light to surround with warmth and heat God said Then Light Came Light to bring woman to man Light to bring flower to garden Light to bring you to me And God Said It Was Good

My heart bleeds for my sons and daughters. My heart bleeds for the lost sons and daughters of my mothers and mothers and fathers and fathers. I look at the exposed parts and the swagger and the long shirts like a nightgown and the hats askew and I weep for the sons of my loins. I look at the tight tight and the low low and the shake for notice and I weep for the daughters of my womb. My eyes scan the horizon and I see the future and I weep for my promise. I turn around and through the ocean of tears I see the mothers mothers who were snatched from their native shores I see their their eyes lower in shame as their beauty in brown and black is put on display and taunted, and I weep for my daughters. I see my strength in my fathers fathers in the wild of my heart land and I see their eyes lower in shame as they are pulled and tugged with chains in front of their mothers mothers and I weep for my sons. I close my eyes and I see the auction blocks and the whipping posts an