Speak and be heard.
Recalling 10 forgotten joyous moments
I sometimes challenge myself to recall 10 joyous childhood moments
…in sequence
Without the interruption of shadows
or fears
or shame
or distress
Or any of the other feelings which trap my adulthood
in that moment
in those moments
and sully the rest
I imagine my relationship to those 10 moments as the key to my relationship to my manhood, to my vision and power and humanity
A lot of layers here
Each one paper thin
And fuzzier as my vision fades
I’m resistant to the skin
and mindfully obsessed with the Sandy bottom
And talk talk talking
While the skin petrifies and the cambium deteriorates
Take 2 steps
onto the cloth
Kente
and gold, black
green, red
Spirit in the soles
through the spine
all unknown and completely familiar
no artifice
and to real to be called dance
Pads of the feet
soaking in gold, black
green, red
Nothing but to hunker
down
And let the cold push us together
thighs upon thighs
lips upon lips
and slow holds
and minor shifts
Versus blankets
and armor
and forgetting all the in betweens
of needing to wrap a feeling
in feelings
Just warmth
and deep bass beats
love and no love
while the wind blows
and a tree falls outside
The closed door reveals
Only ice and forward winds
And worn crackling ground
Rented coke bottles
Bodies and red trikes and sand
Clear blues, foul waters
Fresh snow on tongue touch
Warm thoughts surrounded by cold
Still, the geese return
-Njoli
A loaf of raisin bread
A steady mind
A crowd of observers
of me
A lifetime on each play
A loaf of bread
and steady hands
and warm summer
and all day
and tomorrow
-Njoli-
One more ride today
Mind on money, legs on fire
Rent check favors the mind
Not in service, Not in Service, Not in service
25 min, 35
Why should I expect the bus to show?
The streets haven’t even been cleared
The snow has gone black and slush
5 doormen, 5 custodians
An ex-con, a new mom
Students, grandmothers, teachers
We all, a slow trudge to Fordham
A slow trudge to Grand Concourse
D train
B train
81st
The M79, the route is clear
