Certain Things Need Not Be Explained...

Certain Things...

The Last Poem

I miss when I used to know you.

I think I wanted you more than I needed you.

Did I outgrow you?

I haven't heard the songs in my head,

since you left.

I haven't seen the words in my hands either but that's fine, I guess.

I've been doing pretty well for myself.

Taking better care of myself,

Since you left.

I haven't dreamt in quite some time, but that's fine.

Dreams are meant to stay dreams.

I'm doing more awake than I could ever do asleep anyway.

I think if you wanted to stay,

You would've stayed.

You could have stayed

But you didn't want to,

And that's okay, I promise.

I'll be okay.

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Hey, Gul

Hey Gul, Hey! I seen him at the corner store

While I was trying to get me a cool pop.

Now, he calls me "Big Mama", I call him "Sweet Baby".

One day his name will be my name too,

But I see him in the late afternoon;

Running in and out the laundromat

with NO SHOES ON!

Honey, now, I gots to watch'em.

Lord knows, black men don't know how to do no laundry.

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And, So?

I told you for the sake of knowing, not to change your mind.

I never needed to know that you loved me too.

It was a pretty smile filled with cavities,

A rose with dull thorns and limp petals.

It was the thread that lead to my unravel,

But what gorgeous thread it was.

What vivid dreams I sure did weave of it.

So soft yet so forgetful,

I barely remember the texture.

I just remember the gnawing need to be,

clothed.

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POEM 22

When will you feel the need to apologize without filling the need to be forgiven?

I have decided that just like trust, there is no need for peace.

What use is that for me?

What good are flowers to a dead man's grave,

But a gentle reminder that yet and still, he simply cannot breathe?

Are we truly living or just waiting to grieve?

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JUMPSCARE

I'm gonna jump;

not off a bridge,

not off a table,

and not off a building.

I'm gonna jump.

I'm gonna plant my feet

shoulder width apart

launch down as deep as I can and leap,

From this small pond to the next.

I'm gonna jump.

so high I touch the sky

And never, ever come back down.

Truth be told;

I'm scared,

If I don't jump now;

I'll never be able jump again.

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Tin Can Heart

Maybe I do miss you, so what?

Which is worse, missing you or being with you?

I left the keys in the door so now you coming and going as you please,

letting in flies, and bringing 'round company I don't recognize...

Inviting them to eat off dishes that they don't clean, filling up my empty sink.

I sat down in a room full of people and completely disappeared.

I got a little too good at playing the cards I was dealt, looked in the mirror couldn't find myself.

So, I went looking for my reflection in the eyes of fleeting strangers.

I've come 'cross so many lucky pennies and I still can't make a dollar, maybe there's a hole in my pocket.

You told me who you wanted to be,

And I didn't believe you.

I looked past your faults to fulfill my needs now with a humble heart and a throat full of tears, I must confess my deepest fear...

The truth is,

I fell in love with your potential.

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Author's Note

Thank you for taking the time to read my work! I really appreciate it.

This is a collection of poems inspired by life, love, and the pursuit of happiness south the Mason-Dixon line. It discusses themes of insecurity, infidelity, and injustice. As a flash-poet, I enjoy starting the metaphor with the title of a poem, and I felt like I did a great job of that with this collection.

Thank you again, for your time and your energy, it is very much appreciated.