"I can't wait to taste your lips against my cheek.... I'm so hungry for you"

Brave New Voices 2010 - "Favorite Color"

I was at a lost for words when i watched this piece. It all seemed some relatable one way or another. Bought me to tears.

"I"m so sick and tired of being your intangible day dream. Let's make it real already"

Treasure Found

The day I found myself was the day.

It was the day I cut off all my hair, watching

In shock as long, thick, strands hit the floor,

 And walked out the door.

I became the slayer of the dragon manufacturing,

And manipulating the media,

Flicking its tail and flashing its fangs,

Rearing its ugly head,

Breathing the fires of an "ideal" beauty,

Constantly pouring out

Pages of the magazines, showing

What seemed to be

A conformity, of how I, everyone should be, 

Oh but there is so much more to me

Laughing at the demise of my past, at last

Finally free.

It was the day I stopped letting my feelings

Control my thoughts and right a wrong thing instead

Of writing to a wrong thing

(That is, siding to a wrong thing),

Bringing together the

Kings and queens, addressing the love that sings and

Swings in the breezes of the October sun,

And we've only just begun.

Enlisting the help of the moon and

The stars as they dance across

The night sky emphasizing our unity.

It was the day I stopped asking why, and

Break away from this hate community.

It was the day I looked into the mirror a**-naked

And loved myself for who I was, instead of hating it

For what I had to become.

For what I had to become.

In case you didn't hear me, I said

For what I had to become.

That is, realizing that there is more to life

Than my pants size, the width of my thighs,

The color of my eyes,

The lies that people tell

To make you want to

Despise what’s on the outside.

Criticize.

The day I found out what it meant to have pride.

While tuning out the ignorant disguised

As my friends, transcending vibes of the vile,

To which I can now defend,

My body, my life, my style.

I smiled. I win.

Because I know who I am now.

Treasure Found

Thighs

I wrote this for you.

To the girl who's waistline

sometimes goes undefined,

who's hips tend to dominate,

for thighs that occupy the most space.

For stomachs everywhere.

I wrote this for you.

Where the serving

Goes past a salad

When you rather have a satisfied pallet

And

Late night creeping includes

Trips to Whataburger for a

Number 5 double cheese, bacon

And fries cause

You aint ashamed

Your love affair with food gets

Openly acknowledged

At any hour.

Not afraid to exclaim that

Your thighs were molded from

Corn bread and collard greens.

You are a bottomless pit

Thick

The extra exterior blocks

All the bullshit

How ppl are so quick

To bring you down

But only because they can't handle it

Body measurements that exceed societal width

And You embrace every inch of it

Wearing your stamp of commitment

Along the lines of how ur body

Takes eyes on a rollercoaster ride

With many falls and rises

Curves that entice

And if you don't drive hard,

You're likely to run off the road

So hold on tight

That is, if your into a bumpy ride

Oh those thighs

I wrote this for the girl who body claims to fame

Goes by many names.

You are..

Thicker than a snicker, (got that)

Meat on your bones

Junk in the trunk

Voluptuous

Curvacious

Badonkadonk

Donk

With measurements like 36", 29", 45"

You command authority

In double digit sized jeans

10 12 14’s

Leaving grown men to quiver

Just to inhale the same air you breathe

So hug those curves

Love those jeans

And embrace your 26” thighs

We’re the ones who know where the real substance lies

If you feel as though you get overshadowed

Go under the radar

I wrote this for you

Because we thick chicks, need love too

So go thick girl what you gon’ do

"Without pain, there is no poetry. So I embrace the inspiration." -Rae

Strawberry Fields Forever

Sweet nectar against my lips

I love the way your skins graces my skin

I hate the scent that entices me

Teases me

I just can't stay away

But you enjoy luring me

Until, it's payback time

Your tender flesh tastes sweet against

my tongue

Messy one, you are

Tricklin' down my lip you do

I like 'em ripe too

Oh how you make Cali seem

so close to home

Forgotten

I am on that list of forgotten girls.

Not even important enough to

Grace the back of expired milk cartons

And interstate billboards

Because I no longer matter and

You don’t care, that I will forever be

Hidden underneath the

Stack of

Dirty magazines

 And used condom wrappers,

The game you use is not a trapper

Because these eyes cut through your lies

And you don’t want anyone else to know

Your dirty little secret.

The list that is marked “Do Not Touch,”

Because

My ample flesh is not meant to be clutched

The one girl that you couldn’t use as your sexual crutch

You want to dump your frustrations on me

Something easy to lean on when the pain of

Being lonely becomes too heavy,

Then push me off to the side

You want to drench me in the cum stains

Of your promiscuity

So that I may become yet another favored follower

To your freak induced fever

Social networking through old bed springs and

Cheap sheets

A list of those girls who will never be that girl.

Not offering herself up as a gift, 

But more like a constellation prize.

“You didn’t win me over, but at least you tried and

The sanity of my body is something I’ll gladly compromise”

Because she will surely die if she doesn’t

Have someone to hold tonight

Addicted to companionship for

It is a means of acceptance

And unlike me, she is weak

Unable to discern when she is being used

Becoming as worthless as a dollar bill

Oh If your lines could kill,

But they do

My need for intellectual stimulation

Falls to rejection, and is swept under the radar.

It’s so easy to call me high maintenance

When your standards are so low

We whose efforts are forgotten, remain untouchable.

Hidden underneath the stack of dirty

Magazines and tucked between used condom wrappers.

The list marked “Do Not Touch.”

This is a segment of a poem I'm working on. Hopefully the finished product will be revealed soon.

Last night, I cried in hopes that God would
Carry my tears and allow then to shower
On you expectantly
But I know it doesn't work like that.
I hoped that thunder would rumble loud enough
To overshadow my emptiness.
Nowadays, that's all I ever seem to hear.
I wanted lightening to strike in a way that
You'd lose your memories and come back to me
And clear these dark skies.
I long to feel the sunshine caress my face again.

Hopeless

A lover’s lies do not let me live, 

I’d rather die than thrive through that pain this love does give.

Although my heart does bleed upon that of my sleeve, it sheds no hurt. 

I stand. 

What is love but another strong lashing on my soul, 

That of which I do not wish to no longer endure. 

I need a cure for my lovesickness, 

A love’s sickness because his eyes poisoned my insides, 

With laugther and glee, 

Overwhelmed to the symptoms love gives off no immunity. 

What is it to love and seek none in return. 

Love is suppose to conquer all, 

But love itself is conquered, does the passion begin to burn. 

Yet and still I guess it is better to love 

And always lost than to have not loved at all 

Or to have not lost at all. 

Love, you do call but I do not seek, 

Rather not the games just a lonely lover’s life a bleek.

The rain falls with the tears of thoses who cry, of those who sare troubled.

And so I  hate the rain.

I hate hearing the cries rumble in thunder clouds,

When I hear, I can feel the cries, feel the pain.

Thump, thump, thump,

The cries of every dying child

Of every battered woman of every innocent man locked up

Of all the hurt

It seems that God scoops up the world’s hurt and lifts it high above our heads

He knows we can’t handle the weight

So he trys to shield us from the hurt

But even clouds get too heavy

And the pain falls yet again

Seeming to have no end in sight

So as logn as the rain falls, as long as

The thunder rumbles,

I hear the cries

I feel the pain

CAN YOU HEAR THAT?

IT'S THE SOUND OF STAGNATION SETTLING IN.

THAT PLACE WHERE GOING BACK IS TOO EASY AND

MOVING FORWARD IS JUST TOO HARD

SO YOU PULL IN MIDWAY DOWN

STAY A LITTLE WHILE

HMP. SILENT ASSASSIN THIS ONE.

Piece of the Week: Daddy's Girl

New Piece! I think I'm going to start doing these like once a week, for practice and whatnot. As always comments and advice are always welcome.

MAN...... Where did time go? When you find him, can you tell him to stop taking my youth with him??

Dedication (Again?)

Ok so this is something very new for me. Its my first time ever recording anything I've written. I know I sound timid and could slow down on the verses, but hell I'm just happy I finally did it. Of course any advice or criticisms you guys could give is always a huge help. But keep in mind I'M AN ARTIST, AND I'M SENSITIVE ABOUT MY SH*T. So ya'll be nice about it :

Much Love- Rae

Jasmine Mans "Nicki Minaj"

Jasmine Mans Expressed real truth in this piece. Stop and really listen to the words before you assume that its a diss.

"We part all we thought we knew of love." -Brooks, "In the Mecca" 

Dedication

I write for you
I am inspired by the way your body fits
Right next to mine
How everything about you is living poetry
And we are each other's country metaphors
Figuratively speaking
I mean like
The ice to my box
The cheese to my grits
The Barack to my Michelle
'Cause we run this shit
See, we play this game of silly novelties
You are the naps to my roots
And like you, I'd never want altered
Our chemistry is just natural
The strands of our likenesses entangled
With our differences to create a
Language that evolves
With each new thought and unexpected smile
Foundation built on utter randomness
But works like clocks work
Like clockwork, yet without time
Clocking more worth in these memories
So the higher they'll climb
You are the word that always has my rhyme
With actions that form many sonnets
And like Shakespeare, I could go on and on
Comparing thee to a mid summer's day
But also a full moon's night
A winter's first snow
And a spring's final bloom
I doubt if there are enough seasons
To compare you to
And this is the reason why you
Can't be confined to a categorized room
Your descriptions are infinite
I get lost going in circles
Because our love is just that complicated
I appreciate all of the contradictions
Our relationship has to offer
Play with words in a way that strangely makes sense
Quarters, dimes and nickels
Because change makes cents
And we are wealthy in what we have in common
So we make common sense
And I write for you
For I can never say the right words
To help you understand the meanings
Behind my verbs
So here's our book Baby.
The anthology that captures our time
Whenever we get lost in the reality
Of earthly lives
The reference for love will
Always be our photo
And this poem

Sesame Street:Song: I Love My Hair

I wish they had this when I was growing up. The road to self acceptance would have been a little less rocky. "I Love My Hair" :)

There were quite a few comments surrounding the initial broadcast of this video. Strange enough, the bulk of the negative buzz came from the Black  community. Viewers claimed that the video was racist, saying "that why does the black puppet had to have an afro/cornrows/braids ect." However, I strongly believe that those who spewed this negative comments weird simply ignorant not only to the true definition of racism, but also the perspective the segment who trying to bring to young Black girls.

Racism is defined as a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that ones own race is superior and has the right to rule others. It is a certain hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. When viewing this video, I strongly believe that there was no sense of hatred or intolerance toward the black race whatsoever. Nor is it saying that another race is superior to the black race in any form.

The purpose of I Love My Hair, is to give young Black girls a positive view of their hair (in its natural state). Children these days can easily feel as though their hair as not "good" especially sense mainstream media has broadcast things. What texture is every little girl's Barbie doll? Exactly. So why should there not be a Sesame Street puppet with an afro making our Black girls feel good about themselves? Who else will tell them that they are beautiful if their parents are constantly referring to their children's hair as "nappy" and "unmanageble?"

Hmm, maybe instead of being so quick to judge, you should really step back and absorb the message this segment was trying to convey.

"Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark"- Hendri Frederic Amiel

Currently On My Reading List........

Learning form others as I try to strengthen my own abilities.

I want to fulfill my potential.

Def Poetry - rafael casal - Barbie & Ken 101

Always gives me a pick me up when I feel like I'm being defeated by today's societal standards of beauty.

"While I don't care what you think about me, I care what I think about me....... :)"

".......Lyrically Hilarious........."

Try Being One

You call yourself a lady.

Profess like nobody’s business

That you deserve nothing less

Than a gentleman.

And yet
It seems as though

The ones you get to know

Can’t get the hint.

The only guys you end up with

Are on the bottom end

You are fed up with the fact

That

No one can see how much of a “lady”

You claim to be on the daily.

That all they care about is sex

And they could care less

To see whats above the bedspread.

Easily,

He must be blind

Right?

And its infuriating,

But I understand.

I understand that

Your lividity

Stems from the way

He fails to recognize

The worth beyond your thighs

But honey,

He is not fucking you for your mind.

And its

The most you could ask for

When shorts play peek-a-boo

With your backside

You

Blind-side his will from wanting to know

What lies on the other side

With the fact that your

Self worth that only runs

Thigh high

I’m sure you didn’t allow

His respect of you

To be based on

By how far your legs spread so

Yea

Maybe he’s the issue…

It’s

His fault

that you wear your

Shirts low

And your

Skirts high

And then he

Has the nerve to

Tell you that you could never be

His wife.
What?
He must be out of his mind!

After all, you are a lady.

So much in fact that you

Take the club with you

From work and school

Just to watch ‘em gravel and drool

Only to feel dogged out and

Misused.

I’m not saying that guys should use

The way we dress as an excuse

But ladies,

We have to part take in some

Of the blame too

That is

If you really call yourself a lady

Just an affirmation to not write so many sad poems. After all, life is not as bad as it is perceived to be.

Today is the day I start over,

Fill my head with positive thoughts

And only speak happy words.

You should try it some time

Smiles make everything better anyway

Jill Scott- The Thickness

I love the way Jill speaks the truth, heck, she is the truth. This piece was especially inspirational to me.

I Miss You

Six years still feels like just yesterday.... thats all that can really be said. Happy Birthday

This time I’ll be there.

I’ll be there to say goodbye,

To celebrate your journey,

To not take life for granted,

To not take your life for granted,

To use my body to warm you back up,

To hold your hand,

Breathe life back into your lungs

Like the September breezes that

Remind me of you.

To call your name

Loud enough that you would feel

It in the pit of your soul

Only to rise from this eternal slumber.

This time I’ll save you

From your inner struggles,

Constantly at war with your mind.

Everyday is a battle,

And I know its painful.

This time I’ll fight with you

Become you secret service agent

To jump in front of you went the shot of Death passes by.

Part take in each tribulation

Carry your exhaustion on my shoulders

This time I’ll be there

Be interested in any and everything you

Have to say

Listen to your stories

Take heed in your guidance

Be thankful for the wisdom God has bestowed upon

You.

Sing our favorite songs

Talk for hours until we fall asleep

So you don’t have to be alone,

with your inner thoughts

I’ll rewind time to go

Back just to lay near you

Enjoy every second

If only I had this time, or next time

But my last time was my last time

And i

Can’t change the past

Only

Endure the results of our last words

To carry through the present

Try to fill my void from you of

Something else

But each is a constant reminder

Of what I did not get to

Do

Had I still had you

I miss you

Mom

Depression

I’d like you to think that I have it all together

Everything is on point

Not a hair out of place

 My outer being working like a well oiled machine

But internally,

Gears constantly

Pop

Out of place

And

I am slowing breaking down.

Spend my nights with tear stained pillows

And

Wrap myself up with 400 thread count

Sheets

Woven from emptiness at night.

Wake up each morning trying

To scrub the layers of loneliness off my

Skin

So many times till it bleeds

I need

Someone to carry me to serenity,

I can’t stop hurting.

I pour a cup of heartbreak

Hot

And piercing

That it scolds my soul

Stir two packets

And drink it down to fill me up with the thought of luck.

This invisible layer that weighs me

Down

10 ton.

I try to

Lift it,

Let it go

Free myself from this…

I want peace 

Overpowered

Its rare that I disclose any of the people that influence my work. However, this piece just screamed dedication, unfortunatley ...... Reading is only half the matter. I hope you can understand where we stood (you know who you are).

How do I begin

To tell the tale of

What has come to pass,

Of what

Maybe I wanted to last

But finally fell short

Because I was tired of dealing with your ass.

Alas,

A friendship like this should never be

There was no use in being fri-enimies

“I love you, then I hate you, then I love you”

Type vocabulary

Why?

But this tug-o-war relationship

Never worked since

We’re on opposite ends

One pulling the other in the wrong direction,

I can’t do this anymore.

Drawing in open seams as if it were a chore

Having to constantly restore

The good time we once had before.

Washing my scabs of my

Anger for you on a daily basis hurts.

And while each feel as though the other

Has been deserted

I just want to let go of this

Rope.

But how can I

Without allowing you to fall hard.

No one to catch you, because we’re both pulling alone,

Or do I just stop pulling

Allowing you to drag me

Along for the ride until

I’m neck deep in murky water

I am not strong enough.

"Naturally, this hair keeps opening me up to realtiy....."- Rae (That's me! lol)

Untitled

Talent runs in the family! This is a piece done by my little sister Gabby. Enjoy.

No more "baby's" and "I love you"

Not a chance in the world to say I do

A love ended when life began

Change, time, and social fun

Killed it slowly

A painful drift to separate places

No more caking and dancing

The romance

Has been lifted

And I must act as if I don't miss it

Your soothing voice putting me to sleep

Replaced with tears as I think

Of you and me

A love lost in the dust

After the destruction caused by us

All the promises broken

No love kept as a token

Torn apart and misled

Mind so stubborn, will never change

Not even for your lover

I must forget that this existed

A touch from your finger making me happy

Your silly and twisted

Stories every day

Being able to talk all my pain away

A love so pure and innocent

Never forced or minuscule

Filled the room when we walked in it

Reminded so many

What might have been missing

Acting as if I don't think about you

Or jump for joy when I hear from you

Reminding myself every second

That we might never turn back

Giving up as the days grow longer

Locking those sweet memories away

And rubbing all chips off my shoulder

Trying to forget this pain is inside when I see you

Plastering a smile on my face

And know I'm looking my best

So you can see what you've missed

Acting every day

Causes more drift

And sooner or later

My love for you is like a mist

Can't be seen nor heard

And after all this

I still can't be your friend