Rico Writes: Collection 3
“Now keep in mind that I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit.” -Badu
April is National Poetry Month and we've decided to draw more attention to the poets, both the heard and the unheard. Putting one’s work out into the world can be daunting, but that doesn’t negate the fact that our works deserve to be appreciated.
Each Tuesday in April we'll be releasing a new collection of poetry by YOU. Submissions can be anonymous but we encourage you to put your name on your work so we can show love! Submissions can be made here.
Never Stop Discovering,
The Good-Natured Troublemaker
DaVaughn
Twitter: @picassocantdraw
Thank you to my sistas This ones for all my sisters in the building Yeah I'm talking about fine melanin sisters I'm talkin about the sisters smelling like coca butter and sweat potatoes I'm talking about the sisters who know to co - wash their hair and only use shampoo twice a month And I'm not talking about the regular Pantene I'm talking about the Jamaican castor oil This for the sister who bantu knots so she can wear the twist out to class The ones who want collard greens and Mac and cheese I'm taking about the sisters that will give you the neck twist and roll her eyes but still slide you the swipe to get some food Yal know what I'm talking about The ones that binge watched beyonces lemonade for a week the sisters who never sleep without the bonnet The ones that listen to baby face and genuine I'm talking about the ones who's mother call them in the front rooms to get the remote off the other side of the couch sisters The ones who folk think are angry but they just passionate The ones folk think are loud but they words are too strong to be tamed. I'm talking about the sisters feedin strong men and nourishing stronger babies It's them sisters that's walkin around lookin like fine descendants of mother Hersey herself And the one ones looking like a morning cup of joe with a slash of cream yal too This one for you. thank you And because you don't hear it enough il say it again Thank you
Fly
To the person I should be calling dad can you explicitly state what happened? I wanted it stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for any more confusion or doubt. Dad Where are you? I spent my whole life looking. Looking for you to save my mama from anymore struggle and pain. Looking for a man to defend me and love me like no other. Dad Who are you? I can’t figure out anything about me. I see myself and wonder what the other piece I grew from is like. I wonder if you even know I exist. I wonder so many things. Dad My life is in such distraught..If you aren’t ever coming in my life can you make it clear. Your absence wasn’t as clear as you thought.
RSP
Twitter: @RachS_P_
Instagram: @aresaintspaid
I got a problem with the serial monogamous Ima just Stay away from this this shit is perilous It's killin me, shorties never heal but say they feelin me I love em up, get my money up then they go fuck me up Now it's just lust, man I never trust this shit is serious I'm super blunt, now I don't wanna love man I just wanna fuck I get my shit, dig a shorty out and then I dig it in I'm losin it, I came to rip this shit forget my illnesses She call me back, yeah I fall right back, swear there's no harm in that No harm in it, yeah I lost my shit swear I'm not gettin it Am I insane Back and forth again Conclusion yes I am I see the signs, you don't have to hide, our language never lied How do I address, all this stress, you were my 5-9 Now on my 9-5, one thing I can't waste is my fuckin time My fuckin time, time is fuckin with me shift my paradigm A pair of dimes, in my college twin, still I don't feel shit Stressing it, stressing this, fuck I'm stressing YOU There ain't shit for me to do, losin it cause I'm losin you
Adrianna Parague-Richards
Twitter: @Adri_rich
Instagram: @Adri_rich
Ain’t that funny?: I was doing just fine until you came along and took a heart that didn’t belong to you. But, now it does.
Ndeye
Twitter: @Foreignn_Affair
Instagram: @__ndeyefa
The world will spin
Despite the things that make
Our hearts stop
Our tears fall
Our knees buckle
The world will spin
If anything, let us
Give our experiences
The respect they deserve
Let us
Reflect
Appreciate
Indulge
Feel
Let us love
And we win
Because, the world?
The world will spin
Anonymous
you were different than the rest, my perfect little piece of oasis. the light in the endless darkness, in my never ending abyss. injected you into my veins, just to have a little taste. but you became my addiction, & there was no other solution. an addict, with no chance of redemption. gave me a high never seen before, can't let you exit my system anymore. took me to a place so unrealistic, an ulterior universe unimaginative. showed me what we could've been, you completed my incompletion. the yin to my yang, a combination of peace and pain. I saw our reflections, together next to each other on our thrones. I didn't wanna conquer the world anymore, selfish, I wanted to conquer your world. made me feel different, special. in your maze, I was the golden treasure. that stop in your heartbeat, the gasp in your breathing. at the end of the day, you were all that mattered. an addict off of your love, hoping that it'll last forever.
Blake Morrison
3:27am
Worn gravel beneath my naked feet
Brown shards of glass strewn about
Scarlet streaks reach across the path
Fear and aggression linger in the air
As I stand with caution
The moon howls back at me
Tseyon Beyene
IG: @tseyonbeyy_
The Voice Of The Ambitious Slave In here, quick so they don’t see The escape we’re trying to make, We’ll be shipped of to Canada by the large Ontario lake. We’ve got to be quiet and careful We’ve found our chance to be free, Our lives right now are worthless And that isn’t how it should be. After crawling through this tunnel That were made for us who were slaved. We’ll count our blessings everyday: Praise God! Praise God! We’re Saved!
Tasha
Twitter: @_naaadjeley_
Criminal Mind Forensics declared death at 3:33am Blood splatters make my walls A picasso Work of art Criminal masterpiece, how each droplet Paint a different picture of death Make my walls colorful again I died in a white box of Lover’s quarrel He was a painter of heartbreak Fled the scene paintbrush in hand Fingers soaked in all the heart I had left to give Used a scalpel to dislocate Every artery like surgical procedure I watched him do it Burn the severed tubes Loved me enough to make sure I lay pretty, make my ending less horrific Burned one over my dead body How cynical He was sinister Observant of all my weakness Made my knees cave to the floor In submission How can betrayal feel so damn good? Didn’t even bother to clean my remains He wanted the world to know how foolish I am To trust a killer That would never be caught red handed With his belt buckle hanging He enjoyed killing me Watching me squirm Was his dark twisted fantasy Law protected him I am the only one who saw punishment That is how the game works The lover who kills first Always flees and finds redemption In another victim My burial is in two weeks He will pay his respects, offer my family Condolences for my last breathe That he stole Wrap his arms draped in homicide Around my mother Shake my father’s hand with the same palm He slaughtered me with He gaze at my tombstone with pride I am now another collector’s item Marveled at the gallery of hearts he created Investigators searched, and searched, and searched Couldn’t find the only organ that kept me alive I am lost in this white box, of lover’s quarrel Coroner examined, could not comprehend How this could be love Forensics declared death at 3:33am Suspects are yet to be found The world will never know How love killed me
