The Write Thing To Do

Tags

anxiety, art therapy, mental health, the elephant in the room, the power of now

Ahhh, Anxiety
The 3:00 a.m. Rendezvouses
My Art Therapy

I cope with haiku
…forces me to be present
The Write Thing To Do

Gotta muddle through
The panic at the disco
No anxietude

I cope with haiku
It brings me into The Now
The Write Thing To Do

These Five-Seven-Fives
Have been keeping me alive
Ahhh, Art Therapy

Do The Write Thing, Please
It’s cheaper than therapy
You can count on it

Counting Syllables
The one thing I could count on
The cure is haiku

–@StevieStreets #mentalhealthawareness #haiku | The Write Thing To Do

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February 14, 1991

Tags

happy birthday, homage, schlobohm, schroeder street, the hole

February 14, 1991

I’ll never forget the day; I’ll never forget the year

 

I remember when them dirt-bags tried to jump and you suddenly appeared

 

You stood there to make sure I got a fair one, they ain’t wanna shoot the fair one

 

Edwin and I never got chased after that day in ‘85,

Lord knows I was so glad to run into you and Saint-Claire that day in ‘85

 

My mind state was “I might be young but I can still hold a gun,” after you died

 

I was riddled with so many questions – at first glance I had to second-guess the who’s, how’s, and why’s – after you died

 

Sometimes, I still wonder: who could kill the coolest man alive?
You’re still the coolest dude I ever knew, dead or alive

 

It’s been 27 years to date and I still wish you were here

Sometimes I see you with the LL Kangol, frontin’ in the square

 

Heaven only knows what I would do to hear you say: “if you don’t look like your cousin Taylor ha, I swear”

 

It’s been 27 years to date and I still wish you were here

 

Sometimes, I wonder: how it feels to celebrate a birthday knowing your twin is not here

 

Long story short, cousin Dan – you was the man,
I just wanted to take a moment to let you know you still got love out here

 

–@StevieStreets #homage #poem | February 14, 1991

 

Deep AF

Tags

anxiety, depression, emotionally scarred, mental health, you are enough

I’m no stranger to displaced anger and disfunction.

I know what it is to live when anxiety is suffocating
And depression is crippling
And the propensity to be something forces you to function when you’d rather do nothing.

When shall your wounds welcome their scabs?

To heal a wound, you have to stop touching it.

Sometimes I’m coping with mixed emotions like I’m so HAPPY yet so SAD…

Often I’m dealing with the duality of mental health and my best self like
Ego is the enemy and YOU ARE ENOUGH – even in your ruggedness.

Truth be told,
The vibe never lies and energy is everything…
Long story short:
We long for love in view of the fact that we don’t know how to accept it.

I see too many adults living with codependency issues ’cause the child within was neglected.

Question:
Why do hurt people hurt people?
Why do mental health memes cut deep?

MY POEMS ARE NOT POEMS…
I once read: “If you don’t heal what hurtcyou, you’ll bleed on people that didn’t cut you.”
And thought “that’s deep!”

–@StevieStreets #BlackMentalHealthMatters #poem | Deep AF

Did I Miss The Fall?

Tags

global warming

Pump your brakes Jack Frost!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SEASONS?
Did I miss the fall?

–@StevieStreets #globalwarming #haiku | from The Fall Collection: Did I Miss The Fall?

Black Lives Matter, Still

Tags

art is activism, black lives matter, black youth, emmett till, mamie till, peaceful protest

We’d like to take a moment to pay homage to the life of Emmett Till…

Sixty-three years later we’re chanting Black Lives Matter still?!

Peace to the mothers that had to bury a son.

Peace to the photographer that captured the harrowing image of a stoic Mamie Till peering at her son.

When will the impunity enjoyed by Make America Great Again extremists come to an end?

Why do tough on crime conservatives fail to prosecute when the plaintiff has pale skin?

It’s been sixty-three years to date and America continues to fail the Black Youth.

Peace to the Emmett Till Generation and organizations that empower the Black Youth.

Let us never forget brother Emmett nor the brothers and sisters slain neath the blind eye of society.

Question: How can one afford a peaceful protest, while our brothers and sisters are dying violently?

–@StevieStreets #artisactivism #poem | Black Lives Matter, Still

The Pizzeria

Tags

new york pizza, pizzeria, slices of pizza

Let me get a slice!
Make that two; not too hot though.
The Pizzeria

–@StevieStreets #haiku | The Pizzeria

Cultivating Minds

Tags

container gardening, food deserts, food for thought, hierloom seeds, seed library, urban garden, wholefoods

They say all you need is a garden and a library.

How cool would it be to start an urban garden at the library?
Did you know you could get hierloom seeds from the library?

THINK BEYOND THE BOOKS,
ask a librarian if they have a seed library.

If you’re swamped by food deserts,
All you need is a library.

I want you to tap into the wellspring of resources made available to you through the the library.

My poems are not poems,
This is me planting the seed:
GO TO THE LIBRARY!

EXPLORE THE STACKS,
Peruse the 630’s,
Learn about container gardening at the library.

They say money doesn’t grow on trees,
Well food deserts don’t bear no fruit.

Who taught us to devalue nutritional value?
It’s like printing your own money when you grow your own vegetables and fruits.

All you need is a garden and a library,
Leave no room for reproof.

There’s a huge difference between wholefoods and Whole Foods,
The library is a place to grow
And your mind in bloom is like a tomato garden on a roof.

May you come to maturity at the library;
The secrets of societies are hidden in plain sight at the library.

But don’t mind me,
I just pen poetics, prophecies, and philosophies at the library.

–@StevieStreets #takewhatyouneed #poem | Cultivating Minds

Where’s Book Bae At?

Tags

#blackgirlsread, #bookbae, #prettygirlsread, #readingisthenewsexy, #readmore, #turnupabook, uncle L taught me, well read black girl

Where’s Book Bae at?

I’m looking for the girl whose face is blocked by a book.

When I really want to get to know a woman,
I listen to her playlists and read her favorite books.

I need a well-read black girl that tweets “geek the library” and “booksarebae.”

If you know the book was better and exclaim “don’t touch my hair,”
We got a lot of private jokes to share.

So Lisa, Angela, Pamela, Renee,
If you see Book Bae, send her around my way.

I like ‘em afro bloomin’ with the melanin poppin’,
#turnupabook tee, #readmore button rockin’;
I still believe in three ninety eight point two,
what more could I say. ️

If you enjoy long romantic walks through the bookstore,
We could go out and read somewhere. 😉

–@StevieStreets #blackgirlsread slash #prettygirlsread #poem | Where’s Book Bae At

3:00 a.m. Rendezvouses

Tags

anxiety, depression, insomnia, keep the story going, mental health, semicolon symbolism, the elephant in the room

So 3:00 a.m. and I rendezvous again.

Like clockwork, we keep meeting in these quaint little corners of my mind.

This time she brought Anxiety and Depression along so we could rendezvous with them.

 

Since we’re speaking amongst friends, these little early morning rendezvous have been on the hush for quite some time.

 

Didn’t know we were ready to go public with this affair, yet here we are

 

Discoursing emotional scars with my lady friend, 3:00 a.m., and I’m still flirting with death, not sure if I’m ready to commit…

 

Can’t believe 3:00 a.m. got me sitting here with these crazy chicks; first time I met Anxiety she took my breath away and crashed the party with a Xanax boxcar.

 

And we ain’t even gon’ talk ‘bout Depression, ah man – Depression… Depression and I nearly had a fling last spring; first time we met she tried to cripple me, I can’t stand this chick.

 

Is it me or does anyone else notice the elephant in the room?

 

Yeah, I fell deep for Depression and I still got feelings for Anxiety but my girl 3:00 a.m. got me sitting here facing my demons.

 

Who hears the silent cries? Do we notice the tears on eyes that are dry? Are cries for help worth screaming? Where are the outcries for mental health? Suicide is real, point blank period end of story; yet we need to keep the story going… I think it’s time to address the elephant in the room.

 

Did you know your wireless cell phone line doubles as a lifeline? Call or text somebody today. When is the last time you’ve checked on the mental well-being of a friend? A simple “How are you doing?” may be the reason they’re still breathing.

 

Have you ever stopped to think “What does mental health look like?” The ugly truth is: “EVERYONE IS SUFFERING” with something, it could be me or it could be you.

 

Why do we wear the mask, to hide the ugly parts in life? The ugly truth is: “YOU’RE NOT ALONE,” millions are wearing the mask, just like you. And it’s sad ‘cause the stigma of seeking mental health help has permanently scarred the beautiful.

 

–@StevieStreets #mentalhealthawareness #poem | 3:00 a.m. Rendezvouses

How Do You Shelve Books?

Tags

#datlibrarylife, haiku, interpolations, LIBRARY DIARIES, straight outta zoo passes, the circ department, the stacks

How do you shelve books?
Do you push them to the back
Or even the front?

Edge the books! Or else…
You may not know how to shelve,
If you’re not edging. 🤓

–@StevieStreets #librarydiares #haiku | How Do You Shelve Books? & Edge The Books! Or Else…

・・・
#datlibrarylife:
Books misshelved everywhere
Pages in the stacks reading books, placing books anywhere
I can’t walk through the stacks ’cause the books are pushed to the back
I don’t need Google, my Librarian knows everything
And I’m STRAIGHT OUTTA ZOO PASSES, Neon King Kong standing on my back
Can’t even read Unshelved or LibraryComic, mid-range migraine is back

Don’t push me
‘Cause I’m close to the edge
I’m trying not to lose my head
Uh-huh-huh, huh, huh
When the books don’t align
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under
When the books don’t align
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under

–@StevieStreets | Close To The Edge (An Interpolation of The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five)