Pallet

No Signature Required

peaking out my bedroom window
Rapunzel, I am
sorta
hearing you call out to me with romantic seductions
words
videos
social media
sneaking out the bedroom window
juices flowing
my resistance level
gone
and you call out to me
a mirage amidst my oasis

forgetting everything taught to me
protecting my virtue and honor
wait
until someone worthy rings my bell
passing my authorization scans
approved credentials
approved credit
earning the rights to my bubbling virginity

but
I ran off with you
anyway
barefoot in the streets
take me to anywhere you want and
do with me what you will
have your way with me
fancy banquets
tasty backyard barbeques
your words impregnate me
over
and over again

next year
found prostrate in this public space
for all...

Coming Back Home

it may have been just a simple media ratings boost
when Malcolm said that thing about 
chickens coming home to roost
like Alice in her Wonderland
off with his red bearded head
but one look down that dusty Tara plantation road
there was no Scarlett
scampering down the lane
holding her fancy petticoat

I ain’t here to gloat
but we all seen them dark clouds before
impending hurricanes on past horizons 
comin’ round the mountain
weeks
months
years ago
this daily show reminds me when
the master called good old faithful
Rin Tin Tin
but the whistle didn’t work this time

and they was sitting in them leather recliners
wouldn’t peep the other side of the aisle
nah
they can’t point crooked fingers at us
'cause we ain’t had nothing to do with it
we was minding our o...

Tomorrow Morning

she's going to call tomorrow morning
and I will wait by the phone
preparing myself for just about anything
fifteen rounds of sparring
throwing lefts and rights about Malcolm
Martin
Medgar
or just ourselves

when I hear her voice for the first time
is it the sound of a gentle stream floating by
as I rest underneath the shade of an old tree
or is it the sound of a mighty wind
a hurricane hiding from behind dark clouds
or maybe something in between

she's going to call tomorrow morning
so I must either brush up on my street etiquette

Shakespearean soliloquies
militant revolutionary politics
Barry White bedroom banter
or do what I have done for all these years
just be me
and nothing else in between

the phone will ring
but will she smile
as she says she likes to do
although her eyes will penetra...

I Thought I Had Forgotten You

I thought I had forgotten you
memories packed away neatly in the attic
forgetting all that you meant to me in youthful carefree times
photos and memories 
accumulating dust over the years

I thought I'd rediscover them one day
when I need a good laugh
or a good cry
but never got around to it

I thought I had forgotten you
but as I walked down the street one afternoon
hearing a familiar sound
quickly turning 
secretly hoping it was you
temporarily forgetting for just a second
I had left you in the attic

I thought I had forgotten you
but tonight
as I rediscover youthful laughter
and in remembering your embrace
rediscovering long lost tears

I will never again forget to remember you
nor will I ever again leave you in the attic
to accumulate dust

there will always be
a prominent place f...

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

out of mind

out of sight

was what you said last night

as the light was turned off

and I walked away shackled in shameful handcuffs

skillfully placed when I wasn't looking

out of sight

was what we used to be

strutting our stuff across the stage

like when James Brown was all the rage back in the day

we were the soul couple #1

but when the performance was done

the curtain came down

and no one called for an encore

out of mind

is what I was

and what I am today

walking past me without a word to say

a cold look penetrates my being

and what I'm seeing is snow melting slowly

uncovered

the uneven pavement

with last summer's trash

still piled up beside the gutter

out of sight

what I ...

Yeah

yeah

I often wondered why

you and I

never touched the sky

why we never stopped along the way

to paint pictures of ourselves

abstract

or in fine detail

admiring the finished product

before the final exhibition

yeah

every step along the way

a quick glance but no words to say

as we fantasize about what might've been

if we had touched the sky just once

reaching that glorious plateau we thought about

all those years

smiles

and miles ago

yeah

taking what our fantasy gives

we would make our own verbs and adjectives

our nouns would resound from every cliff of Dover

but the morning came today

and it was all over

just a dream

yeah

dreams are cool

they were cool then as they are now

circumstances

impossible to change

anyhow

yeah

ev...

As-Salam-U-Alaikum

greetings I give to you
on the dawn of this new day
may the light of Allah's blessings
illuminate your way

may His hedge of protection
surround you and yours
and in your daily sojourn
may you find unlocked doors

in this world of turmoil
may you only be at peace
and may the favor of Allah
upon your life, never cease

as you travel this day
may you be met with smiles
and the road be smooth
as you trek your many miles

may your mind be wise
and your faith be strong
the countenance of Allah
cover you all the day long

in the evening when you retire
and your daily walk is through
As-Salam-U-Alaikum
peace, is my prayer for you

I And I

I and I
waited for her lamp light to turn low
red
white and blue
dimming
as the evening approached
such a warm and welcoming
she
such a welcoming heart
she
it was what first attracted 
I and I
to
she 
in the first place
and
she
will always have my heart
my pledged loyalty to love and protect
she
loving
she
in the darkness 
alone 
under multi colored party lights
red
white and blue 
declaring my love to
she 
from the mountains to the prairies
and oceans white with foam
she 
will have my heart and whom 
I and I
yearn for
clothed
naked
wrong or right
I and I
love the touch of
she
hands upon me
hands
blissfully exploring each and every mountain ...

Obituary

remember when we got
H I G H
like Showtime at the Apollo
soft stepping choreography on cloud nine
or ten
or six
or whatever
the number escapes me
but it don't matter
because we was
H I G H
standing in front of your bedroom mirror
hair brushes for mics
Stylistics
spinning 45 degrees a few feet away
our heads spinning
a mighty love we had that moment
teenager inhibitions
lost on that first sip of
OE
and black berry brandy
a perfect combination to get us
H I G H
with laughter
and slurred singing
careless and carefree
and we talked about it the other week
never again reaching that plateau we hit
falling over each other with afros out of place
the long winter walk home
begging the hawk
to whip that arctic wind across my face
to take that
H I G H
a...

Caribbean Jones

damn
this was an easy poem to write

looking into your eyes
sparkling
dancing
cool white foam waterfalls
crystal-clear ocean waters
and my toes
sink deeper into the soft sand of your shores

yeah
this poem was no trouble at all

two white hot bolts of lightning
dangerously flashing above your Caribbean skies
parallel
dancing for a while
never once intersecting
causing continuous claps of thunder
Greek gods making mythological love in the heavens above us
and the worlds 
rejoicing in their union

I know your name ain’t
Jones
just happened to see the name
Jones
sitting all by its damned self

islands surrounded by cool coral waters
schools of tropical fish in military formation
palm trees swaying
orchards bursting full of all kinds of island fruits
ripe
a...