Poetry

Below is my favorite poem EVER.  Written by the unparalleled Nikki Giovanni:

Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)

I was born in the congo
I walked to the fertile crescent and built
    the sphinx
I designed a pyramid so tough that a star
    that only glows every one hundred years falls
    into the center giving divine perfect light
I am bad

I sat on the throne
    drinking nectar with allah
I got hot and sent an ice age to europe
    to cool my thirst
My oldest daughter is nefertiti
    the tears from my birth pains
    created the nile
I am a beautiful woman

I gazed on the forest and burned
    out the sahara desert
    with a packet of goat's meat
    and a change of clothes
I crossed it in two hours
I am a gazelle so swift
    so swift you can't catch me

    For a birthday present when he was three
I gave my son hannibal an elephant
    He gave me rome for mother's day
My strength flows ever on

My son noah built new/ark and
I stood proudly at the helm
    as we sailed on a soft summer day
I turned myself into myself and was
    jesus
    men intone my loving name
    All praises All praises
I am the one who would save

I sowed diamonds in my back yard
My bowels deliver uranium
    the filings from my fingernails are
    semi-precious jewels
    On a trip north
I caught a cold and blew
My nose giving oil to the arab world
I am so hip even my errors are correct
I sailed west to reach east and had to round off
    the earth as I went
    The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid
    across three continents

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal
I cannot be comprehended except by my permission

I mean...I...can fly
    like a bird in the sky...

I’m lying next to you

Feigning sleep

I feel your fingertips

On the small of my back

Feather-like strokes

Sending chills

Up my spine

I’m holding my breath

Waiting

To exhale

I am slowly

Being swept up

In this web of ecstasy

You are spinning for me

Your hand on my back

The other tangled in my hair

You’re breathing heavily

Heat

Emanating from your body

Its 4:00 in the morning

And I

Am in no way sleeping

I’m barely moving

Intoxication

And anticipation

Are taking over

I let out

An involuntary

Grrrooooaaaannnn

You answer in return

By pulling me close

I just can’t get enough

The feel of you

Pushing me over the edge

Time & time again

We imbibe

The sweet nectar

Of each other

The nibbling

Of lips

The feel of

Fingertips

I run my hands

Over your back and chest

They slip to your waistline

Our hips begin to wind

The warmth of your breath

On my neck

While you place your hands

On my breasts

Im gently scratching

Your back

Lips on

Nipples

As finger tips

Travel

Over my

Body

To the center of

My being

Teasing me

Frequently

Promising me

Silently

Unparalleled

Ecstasy

~Rhythm, 2000

IScream

¯Someone asked the question¯

¯Why do I scream¯

Iscream because Im angry

Iscream because I have loved

And have not been loved in return

Iscream because there was a dream

And it has been forsaken

Iscream because

Music

Has lost its depth and meaning

Iscream because

Men dont understand

How disrespectful they can be

Shit

Iscream because

Some women

Dont understand

How disrespected

They need to be

For every cause

There is an effect

Iscream because

¯Many Men¯

Have rewritten history

To suit their own hateful needs

Iscream because

My people

Still embrace

A word that was given

To degrade them

A word

That was the last heard

By too many of our ancestors

A word that

Those who

Came before us

Tried to eradicate

¯Makes me wanna holla¯

¯Throw up both my hands¯

Iscream because

The revolution-will not be televised

And I ask myself:

Do my people even realize theres still a need to revolt?

Iscream because

It takes a village

To raise a child

But our children

Have no respect for their elders

And their parents

Are ambivalent

Aiding & abetting

Their insolence

And yo-

The village has vanished

Iscream because

My people

Still use the term

Good Hair

The hell is good hair anyway?

Iscream because

Some of us

Are ashamed of our

Blackness

While others have

Embraced it

Exploited it

And bastardized it

~Rhythm, 2003