I'm a Growing Woman

PAD Challenge Day 29 (Two-for-Tuesday): Write a "near the end" and/or "near the beginning" poem. Near the End of Burn Out We all faced many end  of the roads where we want  to throw in the towel Throw up our hands  Hide our hearts  Shield our backs Save our other cheek Second guess our  intentions and purpose  We may even want  to walk away from it  all while it remains  worth what it is worth before we completely lose ourselves or our marbles Until self-care urgently  calls us to gently say It is okay to pause survival mode It is okay to lead your way out of  leading everything and everybody Come back I have a safe place  for you to rest your eyes,  and bones I have shelter for you to ease your emotional intelligence and empathy I have soul food  to fill your soul. Near the Beginning of New Anew Unused Never done On the way I see it clear Scent of lilac  Ready for my tongue Like a drop of honey Feels like heave...

PAD Challenge Day 28: Write a color poem. fade to black I love watching the sun  go down for a nap Can't hear it snoring  or groaning No sleep talking,  fighting or apnea Just a one way mass of  spinning without interruptions Imaginary gyrations along  Earth's revolutions With nothing and no one  to stopwatch its time zones One hour in the  mirror of the ocean  to birthing silhouettes to living and non living things.  One minute the eye  of God within a cloud Stretching crepuscular rays  of heaven down on us One second bashfully  or inquisitively peeking  behind one or many clouds  making cotton candy skies Then comfortably offering a sheet of oranges  we can't peel and taste Taking all of the day's light blues and the city's dark blues with it Quickly fading into black Reminding me of the visible and naked eye light  Hosted by my very own  shade of midnight D'ElegantOne 

PAD Challenge Day 27: Write a "New blank" poem. A Taste of New Orleans Take me back  Ya heard me?  To the Big Easy the Bayou of St.John watahs . Take me back 'Cause no matter  Wuzham or where y'at? I was  woadie and babi . Ya know? Take me back  where Who Dat, Who Dat?   We dat, We dat! is chanted from the  French Quarter  to the Superdome. Take be back  with a NOLIA clap. Give me that  Bounce- let me  Back That Thang up in the second line. Take me back on a Fat Tuesday. I want Etouffée thighs and Gumbo to snug my Jambalaya soul. Take me back. So I can French kiss  a real Po'boy,  suck on Crawfish let a hurricane  smooth talk me  down Bourbon Street. Take me back  'cause NOLA  was the sweetest  beignet to this  Carolina girl. And only NOLA can do you like dat dere . Take me back... laissez les bon  temps rouler ! D'ElegantOne 

PAD Challenge Day 26: Write a hermit crab poem. Sticky Notes 2 Self Dear Black Girl,  remember why you  rock and settle for  nothing less. Do what your  ancestors didn't  get a chance to do.      Be EXTRA good so  when people talk  about you,             they are really talking GOOD about you.   RUN,  but do not run yourself RAGGEDY. LOVE,  but do not love without loving yourself FIRST.   Leave a legacy no man can dismantle. Create love. Show love. Give love.              A smile is $0.00. Kindness is $0.00. ☺    Be the catalyst of your generation. 🕇 Remember, even Jesus was envied, betrayed and lied on. 🕇 Don't waste your ⏰and 💰. Save. Build. Repeat. You are not obligated. You owe nobody. You are not responsible for the irresponsible. Play stupid. Don't be stupid. Integrity, loyalty, and authen...

PAD Challenge Day 25: Write a memory poem. Flashback   May I hopscotch back into the 90s, where I was a black gardenia growing up  at 1606 Gardenia because this life, like Fayetteville's honeysuckles, was mesmerizing? My mother was living single. Though it was a different world, from where I came from,  I was still daddy's little girl. I was extra chubby, bashful and cute. My 4C hair was tied from the roots  with Goody's elastic ponytail balls,  plaited with barrettes to seal my tips. I was a Terrific, A+ kid with the  same opened heart and gap smile. A bookworm plus a book lover of Book It! My violin, Kenya and Twist 'N Style  Tiffany dolls were my bestfriends. Lisa Frank Diaries became a residence for my short stories, Haikus,  Limericks and ballads. I love to ride my purple, pink  and white bike in neon  L.A. Gear sneakers then hop  off and jump rope while counting  One Mississippi, two Mississippi . I was never good at Dou...

PAD Challenge Day 24: Write a time of day poem. 3 A.M.: iPray Sometimes-at-times, iWake up at 3.A.M.  iHeard this was the devil's hour,  so iMake it a Godly hour.  One where, iFeel like  the Father or the Son  taps me on one of my shoulders  for me to awake and talk... iTalk about whatever may  wrestle with my spirit  Whatever may irritate my nervous system  Whatever iMay fear in anticipation... Sometimes-at-times, iJust lay in bed.  Thank God that iWas  able to rise into a new day,  survive another day of grief,  in a world saturated in  vile, unholiness, anger, greed, cruelty... Sometimes-at-times,  iMay stare into space, search from floor to ceiling,  looking for one of my Angels,  maybe a relative that visited before, and the sister-friend, iJust lost,  that I've yet to see... Sometimes-at-times,  iGet out of bed,  look out my bedroom window, for nothing at all. iNotice how peaceful ...