Still as watertrapped by deathvice is wrappedaround your neck There you staystuck all daycurrents carry you away Float in peacelove wont ceasefighting onlymakes you weak Speak in truthsteady your routeStill as wateryou wont falter Feature photo by B.R. Henry.

When spoken wordsBecome your demiseKnowingly express yourselfBy reducing the level ofConfusion withOpen communicationAllow confusionTo becomeConversationWhich guides you toConservationOf thoughts, feelings and emotionsThe process that minimizesWords and createsActionsWith no directionBut leads toA fractionOf the confusionThat comes with totalExpressionOf all your emotions Photo taken by C. Nicole Charles

Trying to protect the people you love the most from those that insist on manipulation How do you even warn them when that person claims to be their best friend It is so clear I can see what he is playing at but how can I keep you safe without ruining what you have in ...

My biggest fear is that I may diewhile I am still aliveI become so afraid of lifethat all I become stagnanthave my hearing fadeleaving only an insignificant hummingfeel fear creep down my armssquatting in my fingertipsforbidding me to connectto worry so much aboutthe little things thatI am no longer ableto see the bigger pictureto have ...

I’m not your girl That girl died long ago She’s been buried Along with the sins of the past I’m not yours to keep That was not What I agreed to When you whispered promises When you exchanged secrets That you hoped I’d take To the very grave As you danced with other maidens I’m ...

My body starves for passion But - your touch is vacuous

The new system promotes exclusion denies equalization as the challenges build within a nation

To you we owe Our freedom Gratitude And praise   Small steps Defiant stance Made so we Could belong   To you we owe Our opportunities Our voices Our legacy   Persecuted for petty crimes Inaudible cries Noosed up Whooped, sold off   You held on Carried strong So we could be born And we can ...

Black like me but – don’t think like me We look alike but – we don’t function alike Survival 101 is not a class taught to Black Americans   Trying to make a home in the white man’s land so use to being puppeteered by the master’s hand not able to reason when given the ...

Life     Celebrating life          Life’s celebrations Acknowledge growth           Newness                  Awareness It connects     Old with new As we journey through    Building foundations         And stepping stones             ...