Poem in A Pocket Day Ode

Tags

library out loud, petrarch, pocket-sized verses, poem in a pocket day, poetry aloud

PUT A POEM IN YOUR POCKET!
It’s poem in your pocket day;
Celebrate by carrying a poem to share with others today.
Give the gift of poetry, don’t get out of pocket.

Start a poems for pockets giveaway.
Distribute pocket-sized verses to senior centers or nursing homes.
GO TO THE LIBRARY, memorize a poem.
EXPLORE THE STACKS, discover 811 [eight-one-one] today.

LIBRARY OUT LOUD!
poetry is allowed,
POERTY ALOUD.

A-B-B-A A-B-B-A C-D-E C-D-E,
If you love the art.

A-B-B-A A-B-B-A C-D-E C-D-E,
One time for Petrarch.

A-B-B-A A-B-B-A C-D-E C-D-E,
For the little song in your heart.

–@StevieStreets #sonnet | Poem in Your Pocket Day Ode

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JAZZ and POETRY

Tags

781.65, 811, chilin circuit, congo square, jazz age, jazz appreciation month, national poetry month, new negro movement

April celebrates poetry and jazz
Peace to the #poets talkin’ all that jazz

We appreciate the cultural heritage of Congo Square
Peace to the ancestors that gathered there

I say jazz is poetry and poetry is jazz
Peace to the scribes and the vibes, it’s all spiritual

Ase! Jazz is poetry and poetry is jazz
Peace to the Jazz Age, the New Negro Movement, and the brave new voices that continue to perform the rituals

ART IS ACTIVISM,
It is the duty of the poets and writers to carry on the tradition

Art defines culture,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave
My heart blood bleeds for Black Bards and Black Musicians

Peace to the blerds and those that deserve honorable mention

This is for the Chitlin Circuit hoofers, playwrights, authors, poets, and jazz musicians
Peace to the ancestors that brought Black Arts into fruition

I got rhythm, I got rhymes
I dance to the beat of a different drum
I’m so seven eighty one point six five (781.65) and eight one one (811)
My dewey deserves an honorable mention

My poems are not poems
For those that pay attention,
This is the coda for the invisible poets and silenced musicians

This is a 30/30 challenge to discover those that the history books failed to mention

April celebrates jazz and poetry
Explore the stacks, frequent the call numbers that were previously mentioned

Write a poem, learn an instrument
Do The Write Thing, Do The Read Thing if you dare

Tell the world “Hip Hop is American Poetry” if you dare

Go to a spoken word event,
Purchase your friend’s poetry book this year

Go to that jazz concert,
Donate to that jazz station this year

Teach someone to read and write, if you care
Pay homage to those that died so you could read and write
FIND YOUR TRIBE, support Black Open Markets
Remember Congo Square

Recognize the rich history of When the Saints Go Marching In
Put A Poem In Your Pocket
Use your voice when the media gets out of pocket
Recognize THE POWER OF THE PEN

Once again, April celebrates jazz and poetry
The End

–@StevieStreets #JazzAppreciationMonth slash #NationalPoetryMonth #poem | JAZZ and POETRY

Bookshop Love revisited

Tags

afro bloomin', bookish, bookshop love, borders bookstore, in a sentimental mood, te amo, well read black girl

To the cutie in the cafe reading The Coldest Winter Ever,
Sipping Seattle’s Best;
I like BIG BOOKS and I cannot lie,
your smile is the warmest ever…

This is dedicated to my bookshop love:
My I heart Borders Bookstore girl
The cutie in college working at the bookstore by night
My chocalate kiss exoticness
Ms. R&B and Urban Fiction are the only addictions in my life

This is dedicated to the one that introduced me to Save Room by John Legend
The Dutch Trilogy collection
The bestseller’s list in Essence
This is for the book lover that inspired me to start a book club reminiscent of Black Expressions
Oh how I adore my bookshop love

This is for my bookshop beauty:
My adorable around the way girl
The cutie in the café reading The Coldest Winter Ever
Sipping Seattle’s Best, her smile is the warmest ever

This dedicated to melanated goddess that finds solace in the bookstore
That afro bloomin’ wit’ the melanin poppin’ knowledge of self droppin’ kind that you can always find in the bookstore
This is for the under-celebrated, highly educated woman that I adore
Before we put this one in the books, I had to take a moment to say te amo, mi amor
Oh how I my bookshop beauty

For the love of books, music, and movies
Blessed be the day that I met my bookshop beauty
This is an ode to the blerd and the beautiful
From yours truly
I’m a fan of the well read black girl
And I got a thing for discourse that takes course with “THE BOOK WAS BETTER THAN THE MOVIE”
This was written to show my bookshop love some love
turn up a book and do the read thing, show a black woman some love
Get a library card, buy a black woman a book
Show a bookshop beauty some love 😍😍📚

Books come in all colors
Yet, I fell for the girl reading black books at the bookstore
Peace, One Love

–@StevieStreets #inasentimentalmood #poem | Bookshop Love revisited

Kinky Tresses

Tags

bantu knots, black girl magic, coconut oil, kinky hair, kinky twists, tresses, twist out, wcw, women crush wednesdays

I’m a sucker for kinky tresses
and tight dresses.

I’m mesmerized by the scent of coconut oil
and women that are loyal.

If you rock bantu knots or a twistout,
woman I adore you. 😍😍

Yeah – I’m a sucker for kinky tresses
and tight dresses.

–@StevieStreets #wcw #poem | Kinky Tresses: an ode to that ol’ black girl magic

WHO ARE YOU?

Tags

I AM, know thyself, self-awareness, self-image, self-talk, subconscious, thoughts

WHO ARE YOU?
I’m not asking about your name or where you are from.
I’m not asking about your occupation or the things you have done.
I’m asking: Who Are You?

The most important words that you shall ever speak will immediately proceed the phrase I AM;
so I repeat: Who Are You?

What kind of self-image are you painting? – Do you draw conclusions? – Where do you draw inspiration from? – What kind of self-image are you painting?

Are you kind to yourself? – What kind of thoughts are you thinking? – Do you know life and death lie in the power of the tongue? – Are you kind in your self-talk? – What kind of thoughts are you thinking?

I’m asking: Who Are You?

Who do you think you are? – Who are you? – Tell me who you think you are?

What makes you who are? – Who are you? – Tell me what makes you who are?

Can you tell me who you are? – Who are you? – Tell me who you are?

I don’t know how well you know yourself; I don’t know if you ever thought about who you are…
Nevertheless, I pose the question “Who are you?” to draw you closer to who you are. – Do you see who you are?

I don’t know if we’re the sum total of our thoughts; who knows if your mental lexicon defines who you are…
What I know for sure is the meaning of life is revealed to those that discover who they are. – Do you know who you are?

They say one can never travel beyond one’s thoughts; if so, you better keep your thinking up to par…
One thing’s for certain, you won’t go far without a conscious mind – keep that in mind – from this time on, get to know thyself – you deserve to know who you are. – Do you think about who you are?

–@StevieStreets #subconscious #sonnet | from THE BOOK OF QUESTIONS: WHO ARE YOU? (An Ode to I AM)

Black Velvet: the blackout poem

Tags

all black everything, black velvet, blackout, nostalgia, tropical storm irma

Power is out… on the bright side, I’ve always long to read and write neath the candle light.
After the sunlight falls, I’m gonna listen to the jazz orchestrated by the rainfall and just write.
I’m gonna let the wind blow through my heart as I’m serenaded by the storm tonight.
I’m gonna ballroom dance to the swaying of the trees tonight.
I’m gonna personify mother nature neath the candle light;
when nature calls, I’ll pretend she’s Nina Simone singing Wild Is the Wind tonight.
I wanna summon invocations to the muse under the pale moonlight;
when the darkness falls upon us, I want to adore it like the sight of cherry blossoms in the spring.
When mother nature says it’s time for all black everything,
I shall picture her in a black velvet dress blowing kisses in the wind
’cause she’s wild as the wind and that black girl magic is everything.
In the midst of this blackout, my darling muse is shining bright.
I think I’ll call this one black velvet as a momento of mother nature and the beauty of the night.

–@StevieStreets #nostalgia #poem | Black Velvet: the #blackout poem

The Card Catalog

Tags

#datlibrarylife, card catalogs, dewey decimal classification system, LIBRARY DIARIES, public libraries

Do you remember the time….
when libraries were filled with card catalogs, cardigans, and spectacles?

Do you remember the time…
when the library ladies wore their hair in a bun,

back when hearing the words “reading opens your mind to worlds of wonders” was so much fun,

when thumbing through a card catalog was quite the spectacle?

Do you remember…
when Saturday mornings at the library were filled with family fun,

back when you were taught to use your inside voice and SHHH was the rule of thumb,

back when your search engines were The Card Catalog or a Superhero Library Lady caped with a cardigan and masked with a pair of spectacles?

Do you remember the time…
when you first discovered the book was better than the movie,

back when the childrens librarian first taught you how to Dewey,

when thumbing through a card catalog was quite the spectacle?

–@StevieStreets #vintage #datlibrarylife #poem | The Card Catalog

Stretch Marks

Tags

beautifulness, layers of goodness, stretch marks

Her stretch marks were like another layer of goodness;

sorta like caramel drizzled on an ooey gooey chocolate brownie sundae.
–@StevieStreets #stretchmarksarebeautiful #poem| Stretch Marks: an ode to all the women with layers of goodness

Pamombeau

Tags

final respects, homage, salutations

Pamombeau…

’cause a person’s name is the sweetest sound in any language,

as Dale Carnegie would say.
Pamombeau…

’cause whenever I said your name

you would smile brighter than a sunray.
Pamombeau…

’cause I know you wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Pamombeau…

my dear friend, I will always remember the last time we spoke;

you were so happy, you said your headaches have finally gone away.
Pamombeau…

my dear friend, I’ll always hold onto to that day;

’cause when I said Pamombeau you smiled then asked if we could pray.
A few days later I got the call stating that you were in ICU 

and didn’t know what to say.
However, when Kristie told me to talk to you in ICU,

I knew exactly what to say.
I held your hand and said Pamombeau,

hoping that you would respond in some way.
You moved your legs, Kristie exclaimed “SHE RESPONDED,”

as I fought through a panic attack, thinking “no way.”
Pamombeau…

You taught me to always be mindful of what I say.
Thank you for being a friend,

thank you for always having kind words to say.
Thank you for telling Mr. John that I was kind to you at the library;

I still can’t believe how he hired me the next day.
Thank you for bringing me into the fold at Kohl’s;

I still live the “Yes We Can” mantra everyday.
Thank you for joining the chicken biscuit club on Saturdays;

I’ll never forget when you nonchalantly told me 

“I know you, Lydia, and Jan usually get Bojangles but… 

I bought Chick-fil-A 

and Chick-fil-A is better than Bojangles anway.”
Farewell Pamombeau…

I’m so glad that the last time we spoke you asked if we could pray.
Farewell Pamombeau…

’cause a person’s name is the sweetest sound in any language,

as Dale Carnegie would say.
Although, you were most affectionately known as Beau…

I think this one’s gonna be entitled Pamombeau 

’cause whenever I said your name

you would smile brighter than a sunray.
Farewell Pamombeau…

your name will always be an ode to Pam and Beau,

as you used to say.
As I bid my final Farewell, Pamombeau…

I think we’ll call this one Pamombeau,

as an ode to you today.
–@StevieStreets #homage #poem | Pamombeau

Naturally She’s Dope

Tags

bantu knots, black girl magic, black girls rock, black love matters, ebony essence, kinky twists, melanated, natural and happy, natural hair journey, self-appreciation, self-love, twist out

I’m a fan of black girl hips and full lips…
I got a thing for that ol’ black girl magic, I must admit.

I’m a sucka for melanated exoticness and kinky twists.

Ain’t nothin’ like a beautiful sista…
afrobloomin’,
melanin poppin’,
sweet naturalista.

This is dedicated to the natural hair movement;
keep doing what you’re doin’…
Oh how I adore how black girls rock…
Yes! BLACK GIRLS ROCK!

God bless whoever coined the phrase “Black Girls Rock!”
Shout out to Beverly Bond
and all the black women that applaud black women;
I’m lovin’ the bond.
Yes! Black Girls Rock!

I like ’em black and educated,
highly melanated…
black love matters,
you could love it or hate it.
I need a pretty brown that’ll slay with cornrows or locs.
I’m looking for a love that’s not afraid to rock bantu knots.
I’ll probably tie the knot with a beautiful soul crowned with a twist out.

She’s the crown jewel and my muse;
when I meet her, she’ll be natural and happy…
eyebrows on fleek,
pearly white teeth with the twist out.

I got a thing for twists, puffs, and all that stuff; don’t get it twisted.
Let’s be specific;
I got a love jones for chocolate skin tones…
naturally she’s dope,
word to my shea butter soap.

I see heaven in her eyes ’cause the world is not enough.
But where is she?
I’m looking for the woman with the FREE ANGELA tee…

Her heart is golden yet she’s a diamond in the rough;
sweetest thang I’ve ever known yet her shoe game’s tough.

We need to break the Willie Lynch chip…
and she’s a symbol of hope.
We need to kill the Negropean…
and her iconic curls are a symbol of hope.
When I need to know black is beautiful, it’s team natural that keeps me afloat.

Her natural hair journey is an expedition of self-love and self-appreciation…
I had to take a moment to spread love and express my appreciation.
Brown skin…
I’m glad to see you lovin’ the skin you’re in;
’cause naturally you’re dope.

Yeah, I’m a fan of black girl hips and full lips…
’cause naturally she’s dope.

–@StevieStreets ebony essence | Naturally She’s Dope