Poetry Kaana

The Voiceless

2011-11-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

I do this for the voiceless
the choiceless
the life that is no less
than priceless
but reeling from the
their sudden loss of innocence
I do this for the sleepless
the peaceless
the bodies that can't find wholeness
because of the soulless
blood sucking vampirahs
dat need a dagga and some FYAH

FYAH fi dem
We fi shun dem, den run dem
We need to out dem
Mek unno know bout dem
Earthquake fi dem
We need to shake dem
den shackle dem
Yeah, a dat we fi do dem
dem and dem fren
me and dem
We aren't friends!!!!

Nah

Cause, this is is not about them
We aren't pleasing them
or appeasing them
We ain't speaking for them
In fact, we doing this with no apology
Ennufff of the absurdities and confusion
We keeping it real and raw, with no illusion
I wrote this to set the record straight

From the gate....

Cause, I do this for the voiceless
the voiceless
the choiceless
I do this.... for the voiceless

For You!!!!!

2011-07-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

You are a whisper
on a silent night
sound coming from nothingness
before you, there were ideas
imaginings
thoughts of what could be
now, there is.
we are.
something so real
I feel it.
it touches my core
and permeates pieces of me
left untended
and abandoned
until now
until you.

You are rain drops
on a barren field
where the threat of famine loomed
and nothingness seemed foreshadowed
bursting through the skies
a torrential and unpredicted down pour made landfall
sprinkling my life with purpose and substance
quenching my thirst and longing
for love
for you.

You are

tangible
touchable
organic
thoughtful
vibrant
alive

you are

Love!!!!

Ennufff is Enough: The Crisis Call

2011-04-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

She called a few days ago
and wanted to talk to someone, anyone
about her sexual assault

Confused, petrified and alone
she conveyed her story
and I listened

Her story wasn't the first I'd heard
I'd told this story myself
Her story won't be the last, either

The longer we pretend
this doesn't exist
the bigger it grows

Feeding off of shame, guilt, pain and pride
The lies supersede reality, and
Ennufff is enough

Her tears stain my soul
trickling into the recesses of my heart
Her life has veered off course
as society sits idly by
twiddling their thumbs in denial

She spins out of control
careening off the roadway
into the thick brush and down the steep hillside

Her body
the vehicle she'd once travelled in (felt sheltered by)
has been written off, totaled.

She emerges from the wreckage
barely alive
hanging on by a thread

The traumatic imagery
fresh in her mind
plays over and over

"Make it stop," she pleads

She wants to hit rewind
take herself back to the minutes, seconds, before IT happened
to be NORMAL again

but that's not to be

This is the new normal, I'm afraid

This place
where people pretend IT never happened
where friends, family and lovers patronize and dismiss rather than listen

Perhaps its just too painful to hear and process
Perhaps they're still dealing with their own traumas and demons
but whatever the cause
the effects are pathological and implosive

The effects are too many to list
too emotionally taxing
too far reaching and devastating to convey in a few lines

Sexual assault and the devastation it leaves behind
are more pervasive than you may realize
but not insurmountable
the change begins with you

Ennufff is Enough

Sajoya

2011-01-09T22:06:00.000-08:00

Free
Spirit

Blazing
Fire

Poet
Empress

Sister
and
Friend

I miss you!

Brown Sugar

2010-10-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

They're railing against my Brown Sugar
Singing the praises of alternative sweeteners, instead
Stevia, Truvia and Splenda
the natural and not so natural
are trying to become my Sugar's replacements

They're swearing by that white sugar
refined and timid
Some of my people say they
don't like their lime-aid dirty
or their mint tea murky

But me

I love my brown sugar
sticky, molasses laced flavor
dark and temptingly sweet
natural, real, raw and addicting
Urging me to lick (the spoon)
and come back for more

Oh that brown sugar is hauntingly good
syrupy on my tongue
never enough
can't ever be too much
my appetite expands
as the taste slowly dissipates
more is all I can imagine
consuming my thoughts
sweeter than I envisioned
complex and bold
you'll never get old

I'm yearning for you!

My brown sugar.

The Fiend

2010-10-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

I know what the fiend feels
an incessant pain that never ends
a strong, burning desire, for a hit
what ever it takes
they must have it
cold sweats, shakes, nausea
it calls and beckons
the need to have it outweighs reality

Oh, I know what the fiend feels

Addicted to you
this pain never ends
a strong, burning desire for you
what ever it takes
I must have you
cold sweats, shakes, nausea
you call and beckon
The need to have you outweighs reality

Oh, I am the fiend
and you are my drug.

Rejection still Burns

2010-09-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

The memories of rejection and pain
still lurk around the perimeter of our relationship-
now mostly platonic and cordial.

My silence and apathy
are remnants of hurt and self-loathing.
I hated myself for the stupidity
I masked as vulnerability.
I swore never to fall as deeply
and blindly as I did back then.

So here we are 12 years later
me muted and distant
but aware the feelings haven't all gone.
They've dissipated some
but not disappeared.
We're parents after all
and are bound by a pair of X and Y Chromosomes
growing fast and furious in front of our eyes.

As I look at him,
looking at us,
I wonder how much we owe him
especially if love remains
even in the recesses of our hearts.

but only a fool gets burned twice.

I Can't Handle the Truth

2010-08-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

Almost a month and still
I am longing, waiting, hoping, praying
imagining (Damn it)
visualizing, calling, crying out

What will happen next month?
and the month after?
when I can't quench this thirst
when I can't quell this hunger
when this overwhelming urge won't subside

what will become of me?
and this pang
this gnawing, nagging sensation
this pain
this ache
this place
this realization
that this is it

that moments have elapsed
and time can't be rewound
How will I face the truth?
when, clearly, I can't handle it.

You

2010-07-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

You
are sun kissed days
moonlit nights
long and slow seaside strolls
with hands intertwined
intricate seashells found on a beach
a soft hand on the arch of my back at night
as I drift off to sleep

Hot
Dark
Sweet
Beautiful
Amazing
Enticing

Dripping in desire
standing a few steps from love

This Moment

2010-07-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

Is a moment
but it special
Is a shawt time
but it sweeet
This moment is fleeting
but wi deh ya fa a reason
Is jus you and me
no one else deh pon my heavens
for the next 48 hours

Sweetest Sacrifice

2010-07-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

When you came along
my self-obsessed longings subsided
my desire to be, to dream, to explore
and discover came to a close

Your very breath revitalized my spirit
with previously unfathomable life
The sound of your voice inspired visions
greater than I'd ever conjured

The world opened up like the parting sea
Mose's rod manifested
and miracles seemed tiny when contrasted
with the beauty of your smile
It lit up the room and my heart

You've become my reason

Everything I do is you

I am, so that you can be

This life has been contextualized because of your entry

My children, you are my sweetest sacrifice.

Love Remembered

2010-07-31T21:14:00.000-07:00

Haven't written about you in a while
been on an extended hiatus
been to dark places
stripped away the pretenses
disarmed my defenses

Sat there in silence
thinking of you
looking at your many faces
flashing across my mind's flat screen
tugging at what remains of my heart strings

Mi nah lie
there are parts of you I miss

There are elements
I sense
like an aura around me
unseen
but there
unquantifiable
but real
untouchable
but a sensation my finger tips recollect

It's the caress of love I remember
the light of love I bask in
the memory of love I carry with me (even now).

If

2010-07-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

If this were another time and place
If we could be exactly as we are
If I could shed my inhibitions, and you,
your imposed limitations
If distance could be wished away
and love conquer all.

I'd love you!

If our circumstances weren't as plain
If desires came first and reality last
If the rapid beat of my heart mattered
and the tingle I feel when you enter a room were enough.

I'd be with you!

If our worlds weren't thousands of miles a part
If children understood impulse and life forgave it
If soft and supple kisses meant you'd treat me as gently and sweetly.

I would be yours!

If only life were that simple.
If only wishes so easily came true.

I would stay right here and be with you!

I'll Always Remember

2010-07-31T21:11:00.000-07:00

Yu a go deh pon my min, nuff
like a concern
or STRESS

Awwww Bwoy
di way yu mek me feel
nuh have a comparison

You are a desert flower in bloom
it's purple and gold petals
pushing through the dry earth
an oasis among life's barren expanses

Like a wave washing over my body
you are warmth and excitement
the intersection of depth and mystery
There's more to you than meets the eye

I'd enjoy excavating what you keep hidden
Perhaps I'd even find a place you've carved out especially for me
Where your thoughts echo mine
and your feelings are soft and tender
How exhilarating it would be to share something so perfectly balanced
and delicate

I'll dream
cause that can't hurt nuttin
I'll cry
cause that is natural for I
then I'll move on
cause I'm a souljah
but I'll always remember

and distance, nor time, can't tek dat away from me

Cornered

2010-07-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

He had me trapped again. My Black checker piece, cornered. The sly smile on his face meant certain doom, and yet, the best part of the game was seeing that smile. He hadn't known that victory was mine. Playing this game meant time closer to him, sitting only a few feet across from the calculated wrath that made perpetual loss worthwhile.