Day 22 | #NaPoWriMo | I Think Therefore I'm Late

in

I spent a bit too long on this one, I think. It's cool, I just forgot the whole point of doing this is to take pressure off, and kill the overthink. It's the home stretch, so I'll sprint the rest.

My title reference to French philosopher, René Descartes, wasn't total vanity. I've been thinking about négritude recently, so I thought I'd write on that. To briefly summarise (and horribly oversimplify), it's basically the quality or fact of blackness, and the affirmation of the value of black African culture and identity. As a movement or general school of thought, it was started by French-speaking African and Afro-Caribbean intellectuals in the 20th century. Anyway, it was a lot deeper, denser, and more complicated than I thought it was, with so many dimensions and aspects. I don't know where I stand on it as a thing myself. I think I may have found my future MA topic, because it's WAY too big to explore in a single poem. If you're curious, there's more on it here.

I ended up with a few versions of this poem. I decided to share this one.

Enjoy.

NEGRITUDE

There is nothing grandiose in bondage. I untie
my titles from your lips. You will not neuter
my black root and stem, or state I ought to paint myself in green
or red or blue to camouflage. I am no colour. I am no part of white. I will not de-grit
myself for you to pity me for how much I endure
to prove I am deserving of your gaze. Nor will I proclaim myself. I reign
regardless. I do not need your eyes to see that I am erudite
any more than light feet leak timidity. My sinews will not tune
themselves to your tone deafness. I will just be: twist and label-free. Just as a tiger
needs no battle cry to pounce upon his prey, so I need not roar or grunt
for you. Instead I am. And you are merely deer.

Day 18 | #NaPoWriMo | I'm not vexed, I'm tired

in

The news was interesting. Let's see where this goes now.

All I know is this: apathy is dead. As in not cool. As in unacceptable. If you're 18-25 and from the UK or a Commonwealth nation (yes, you can vote) then in the name of whatever you call upon, REGISTER TO VOTE. It takes, like, 5 minutes max. and there is no excuse whatsoever. you don't need an opinion right now, and I won't prescribe one. Just register. You can have one on 8 June (if you need time off work, book it now). 

And turn up. Please. 

Anyway, back to the poetry.

Enjoy x

Change

Pennies still cost more than they're worth
so you'll forgive me for not standing
with you in heat or sleet begging
for change they never wanted to keep anyway.

They will claim they did you favours
while you think your sweat had earned it while they continue
to dash the drying root and fruit of your labour.

Day 16 | #NaPoWriMo | Happy Easter/Pascha/Resurrection/Egg Holiday

in

What's good, fam? 

Christos Anesti! 

Hope your Easter weekend (which has nothing to do with the Babylonian deity Ishtar) was restful and such. This next one is also seasonal because I couldn't help it, but I don't do it for the eggs. Thanks for being here.

Enjoy 

(N.B. The title will probably change)

And then the Angel of the Lord said unto him:

You forgot to tend your wounds again.
Infection spread like weed roots through your veins
to your heart   You say

I will not believe unless I feel

but you were too late
for the death and the funeral - missed the darkness
and the tears and your chance to be torn free of doubt.
It is a parasite you’ve learned to live with.
Now you want to kill it with proof

so you are trying to catch flies,
hoping Death will be close by. But

the tombs are empty today.

The only bandages around are left behind
from the body you missed too.

There may be some spilled myrrh
you can sponge off the ground for ointment
and a flame you can borrow
to burn the lateness out of you.

He is risen. Follow suit.

Day 15 | #NaPoWriMo | You didn't think I'd left you hanging, did you?

in

I've been a few days behind on this, but I'm back. I'll go backwards and fill the gaps soon, but if I stayed behind I would have fallen off for real.

Lesson of the past few days: just keep going. I didn't realise how easy it would be to fall off. One slip and before I knew it I was like three days behind. And it all started to slip because I begun trying too hard and falling into old habits. And it's taken its toll on this as a result. Well no more. No apologies either. I publicly promised myself I would finish this. 

I'll come with the older ones over the next day or so. (They'll be backdated, of course)

Enjoy

FUTILE

I’ve stopped asking you for wisdom and prompts
hoping you can unlock my tongue.

even now my fingers are fatigued
my joints aren’t what they should be

my brain is a screwed up
paper ball
with inkblots,

              rattling

                        in my head

as I try to make music from this deflation and mess
and even if I could make symphonies
of scratchy rattling noise
or all the dots        ,
                                        and lines        ,

                                                        and empty                                      space

is anyone really listening?

       Hell,

               even if it were sheet music,

who in the hell would read or play it anyway?

Day 1 | #NaPoWriMo | New Form

in

Happy April!

So, originally this shouldn't have taken as long to finish as it did. I started writing this morning thinking "I'll just do an acrostic! No biggie. No pressure. Finished is better than perfect" and all that. Then upon reading my draft, I thought I could do more with the form. Before I knew it, I was counting words per line and getting into something that wasn't as easy as it first seemed. 

The best thing about this is allowing yourself to follow your instinct and not worry about perfection. Let it come to you and you can return later. I ended up devising a brand new form called ALPHA+OMEGA. If you're a poetry geek or just wanna try it, hit me up. This piece wasn't going to be one of them. Then I realised upon typing it up that my earlier draft didn't make sense. Really, it was editing it to be readable that shegged me time-wise. 

If there's one thing to take away it's this: don't be like me, please. Just do da ting. I only finished it once I stopped overthinking. Had this been late, the title would be way more apt that it should be. But tomorrow is another day; I'll do better.

I hope you enjoy.

Hold up: shout-out to all my [VERY patient] #NaPoWriMo squad. Word up to the following: SugarJ Poet, Anna Kahn (their blogs are linked below), Kit Finnie. Hold tight Kareem Brown and Laurie Ogden. There are more wavey people, but these are the poets I've spoken to today about the challenge. 

Okay. Enjoy x

BAPTISMOS/BACKDATED*

Before  forming  you,  I  knew you would  succumb.
Apathy  became  fear;  potential,  the  jaws of orca
Coaxing     you     to    a    solid     past.    The   ship
Kept you afloat, then stopped holding your weight.
Drowning,   you   cried,   blinded   by   tiny  seas.  I
Answered  you with angels of anxiety, and breaths
Tearing death rattles from your lungs, forcing them
Empty.  You'd  forgotten the womb is an ocean too.
Darkness  brings  life.  Know that so do the  waters.

*baptismos: βαπτισμός(the act of) a dipping or washing; purification effected by means of water [Source]