Wednesday, January 11, 2012

tell me Nikki (dedicated to Ms. Giovanni)


tell me Nikki
tell me
who is it or what is it that inspires you?
is it a baby’s cry or some love from your past
a distant bird in the sky or coltrane’s jazz

tell me Nikki
tell me
how do you find the words
the nouns
the syllables
the vowels
the verbs?
tell me

tell me Nikki
is it tricky?
damn you’re clever
cause i never seem to find the rhymes that
slant and dance causing romance
as they fall like pieces of sweet candy
from your tongue
making me wanna run
through sprinklers on summer lawns
dripping ice cream cones
and scuppernong grapes bursting in my mouth
i taste your succulent poems and i wonder how it’s done
so tell me Nikki
tell me
what’s your secret?

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