you tighten up. wear a smile if you must.

force yourself out of bed—

face yourself outta bed.

the last standing hope.

ready to make a move.

you swear you’re on a journey toward

freedom. swear you’re on the right path.

somehow, you swear

you gon’ find joy without dealing

with the healing shit.

see, grief is an upside down

—all around kind of thing.

nothing pretty.

you learn the hard way.

you learn suffering.

you learn you can’t move on

and you can’t move forward

until you let the pain move around

your space for a while.

give your thoughts room.

invite her energy. ask the blue

to make herself at home. watch..

watch how she open up the blinds one day.

let the sun see your tears for once.

let the moon see your tears.

say your prayer toward the light.

let spirit hear what your heart says.

let the light fill you.

you hold onto it long enough,

it starts to pour out.

you hold onto it long enough,

it starts to pour out.

you hold onto it long enough,

it’ll pour out.

let it live in you,

then let it go without you.

when you purge

you lose weight,

you lose ego,

you lose friends,

you lose concentration

on what’s unfulfilling.

you cry

til you can’t anymore.

spirit washes

all the unnecessary out,

whether you signed up

for the cleanse, or not.

florida waters

i done aged like

triple times over

since the world

shut down. gifts

offering relief

and stress at once.

i get us all free.

bones ache

throughout

my body. red rum

medley. i see red

runs in the family.

the problem is

our ways of life.

demon shit.

the fire will keep us

busy or wipe us out.

this is a blessing

depending on who

you spread it to.

murder she sowed.

murder, she worried,

would not be an escape.

the life after this

one, there’s no

guarantee. roots go

deep. grandma

planted them

heartbreaks

in the grounds

that’re blessed or

hexed by murky

bodies of water.

florida sweet,

the humidity

reminds me of

a life i used to live.

comfortably

uncomfortable.

some nights are

heavy on me. drifting

between one realm

and another for

the remedies

to almost anything.

my shoulder pays

the price. eyes lower

by the second. sunday

reminds me not

to forget her water.

i place sweet potatoes ’n

greens in her special bowl.

protection candles

burn a new flame.

i say grace

a triple times over

meeting joy

transitioning

from grief

to grateful.

tribe

in all ways

i am the

women who

came before.

i am the

children who

grow after.

many of

journeys

marrying,

both, play

and wisdom.

new visitors

my people

don’t die

real deaths.

they come

in different

forms—again

and again.

make peace

no one is ‘yours’

no one is ‘yours’

no one is ‘yours’

no one is ‘yours’

no one is ‘yours’

no one is ‘yours’

no one is ‘yours’

no one is ‘yours’