"The job of the writer is to make revolution irresistible.”

-Toni Bambara

Nice of you to stop by! Here are some original pieces by lil ole me…you should hear ‘em in person!

NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH A PAINTER

Painter. Noun.

Marriam-Webster definition: An artist who paints pictures.

Painter. Big Clown.

My definition: One who finds the most creative way to remove the saturation in something and leave it completely dull.

Dim, faded, lessened exposure

Tried to keep my damn composure

Became a poser

But instead wanted to be your muse

And next to a palette of various hues

There was I was used.

Every outline you made

And traced

I watched you erase

And erase

And erase

You just couldn’t get it right

This image you see, I gave you raw and unfiltered

You wanted to create something dope with it

And I was willing to let you

But mistake after mistake was enough

And I understand drafts are meant to be rough

But this raw and unfiltered image was supposed to end up something enhanced, heightened, amplified

With you by my side

But you lied

You said this was the only work you’d gotten started on

Yet you weren’t even willing to finish it

Because you found the beauty in another

You never allowed your fresh brushes to dance on this already-begun creation

I mean I know, it’s your loss

But I was never supposed to be a canvas for you to mess up on then toss.

Because to see you graze fresh strokes on a new piece? It ain’t even worth 1,000 words

But in the end, you appreciated it more than the one you’d spent the most time trying to figure out

The one that left you baffled because you knew there was something worth creating here, but you were too scared to find inspiration to continue with it, it could’ve been captivating

The one that applauded you for every bit of effort you put toward it

The one that thought Vangoh had nothing on you

The one that felt like a Mona Lisa in a room full of basic bitch selfies

The one that felt like it was on a pedestal each time you came in contact with it

The one that allowed you to take your time and find the beauty in its blankness in the first place

First place, a title it will never hold

Took me a while, but I finally get the picture

ROMARIO’S INTERLUDE

The stars align when I speak of you

You set my world on fire, and I don’t care how cliché it sounds

Your aura is magnificent.

My equivalent,

My cotton candy on a rainy day.

You’re a part of every word I speak, baby

Yeah it’s that deep, baby

You swept me off my feet, baby!

You know at once I’d lost my balance, but

you’ve surpassed men

the past men who have once made my spirit crumble.

Taking a step each time I’d gotten knocked down only hurt more…

More reciprocity, more communication, more consideration was all I’d ever expect

Except, they’d often forget about me to seek another who expected the same damn things.

But you,

You’re the bass upholding the harmony to my every tune

I haven’t shuffled. You’re the only one I have on repeat.

You make me hum Motown records every morning

You’re snoring and the Four Tops surround the room

You’re snoring and the Temptations bounce off the walls

You’re snoring and Tammi & Marvin done found their way in

In reality, I never thought this kind of love actually existed

I was so used to not having consistency

See what I mean when I say that I love you?

I love you not just because we’re headed in opposite directions for the night,

or because we’re going to sleep.

I mean that.

Believe that.

and if I don’t show it enough,

I’m making it clear that whatever the future holds will be exuberant because our souls will be in tandem

Your heartbeat has become my favorite anthem

I’m finally home.

I WANTED TO LOVE YOU

I wanted to love you but I was constantly told, “No, you cannot love him until you’re 100% comfortable by yourself.”

Truth be told…I was at like 98% but man I had so much love to give anyway, and…

I wanted to love you because it felt like you were my match, and it was stricken…yo, listen

From failed relationship to failed relationship, I felt like it was you my soul was missin’

I wanted to love you, but I was scared you wouldn’t love me back

I wanted to love you, and it was taking me a while to feel comfortable enough to settle in…kinda like the oil paintings on your canvases

Seeping in slowly, but permanently, becoming used to you

I wanted to be your muse,

I wanted to love you like our slow dances at 2 AM to Vandross and Soulchild and ooooh chile

I wanted to love you better than your old things claimed they did

I wanted to love you something original, uncut, uncommon

Through tangle-legged afternoon naps while basking in sounds of Common, Sade, and Badu, and you?

I wanted to love you so I could tell the entire world about it and how you were like a breath of fresh air ‘cause I’m so used to it being polluted

and I trusted you ‘cause no other man sparked my interest the way you did.

See, I’ve let down my guard for unworthy dudes who took my heart, but they done chopped and screwed it

Like? Baby, you know how many times this destination to Mr. Right been rerouted?

I wanted to love you greater than the pain that made me feel I’d never be able to love again.

I wanted to love you ’til you ran my mind at 4 in the morning to inspire more poetry in the depths of my heart

I wanted to love you freely, allowing you to grasp every detail of this growing spirit — my admiration palpable

I wanted to love you in ways unexplainable, if you only knew the plans I had for you

I wanted to love you in slow motion as if I owned time.

Time that got wasted once again, 

time that I wanted to spend endlessly with you,

time that tick, tick, ticked until all your true colors blue (blew) up in my face, and…

It’s sad because — I wanted to love who I imagined would be my forever best friend

I wanted to love you like rehearsing more bars from Children’s Story and La Di Da Di together…or Mona Lisa

like sharing laughter and beatboxing over boxes of pizza

and what’s the unit smaller than a nanosecond?

‘Cause even those were spent in bliss too, and it’s all because

I really really really wanted to love you.