This Blanket

You argue in circles
Try to paint a picture that interweaves past and present.

You want to change the pattern here and now
Add a new colour
And vitalize the future.

But I am not sure if this pattern is as strong
This new thread
Must be thick
It will hold the whole piece together.

I want this blanket to last 7 Generations.

It will match the old blanket,
Now faded.
It sits in an old chest
And gathers dust.

There are moth holes
And edges frayed from wear.

This new blanket will be draped around the shoulders
Of a young country
To show coming of age.
To recognize maturity
And ability to contribute.

It symbolizes peace and understanding
It recognizes an agreement
That this youth
Will act in a way
Beneficial to all.

These threads must be strong.
I want this blanket to last 7 generations.
Are you sure it is time,
For that old blanket to be replaced,
For us to welcome in the new?

This is so much responsibility
It seems so soon...
And yet the old blanket
Is falling apart
The threads were not strong enough
To withstand the tests of time.

We must weave this new blanket stronger
Interweave colours tightly
Look towards the future.

Adrift

I feel like a castaway
Set adrift in a rowboat
Sun-parched
And stranded,

But you are the ocean
Your tides
Set my course,
Gentle waves
Rock me to sleep.

I lay in my boat
Half-dazed
Stare up at the harsh sun,

You whisper
Of far off lands
You sing to me
So I can never forget tomorrow.

Can you and I weather all the storms?

If I fall into that great blue
Surrender myself to your embrace,
What happens then?

If I am welcomed into
The heart of the ocean
Can our story
Go beyond time and tide?

Miles and Mountains

The miles between us
Are like mountains
And I can't see past them

But I will climb to the peaks
And run through the vallets
To get to you,

And if my steps falter
If I stop to catch my breath,
Will you meet me halfway?

Together we can make moutains
Look like molehills
And miles
Like grains of sand on the beach.

And soon we stand
Looking into
Each others eyes
And I forget
We ever
Were apart.

Chess

Time strides on.
I wonder
Am I making a mistake?
Every footfall
Carefully planned,
A game of chess.
Did I miss anything?
Will I find,
After a pause,
That this queen falls,
That even a castle
Won't prevent
Check Mate?
And if
Things don't work out
According to plan
Will I be a sore loser,
Or set up the board
And play again?

The Unspoken

Women are amazing,
Because there has never been a creature,
So strong and fragile
In the same breath,

You look at me as if incredulous
That I won't put out,
Because you want to live some wild fantasy
That you saw on one of those porn videos
I see listed in the search bar on your computer.
You watch them when I'm not there
And think I won't notice.

Then you slink off to the shower,
Try to let the water drown you out,
And wash away your frustration.
But you don't know frustration
Or confusion,
Truly.

A woman
Is taught from childhood
That they should be ashamed of their own bodies,
Live in fear,
Never talk about
Sex
Or Pleasure,
And certainly not together.

You can wave your hand in dismissal
And say that
All of this is a thing of the past,
But it is a legacy
Passed from mother to daughter,
Through the generations,
In well-intended words,
Trying to pass on wisdom
But there's an echo
Of subjugation,
From a time
When women knew oppression,
When the chains were forged.

And now those chains live on
As ghosts of the scars of history,
Memories,
Unwilling to fade

A woman can feel pleasure,
But expressing pleasure
Discussing sex in public,
Makes us
Skanks, whores, sluts.

Showing off our natural beauty
Makes us provocative,
Turns heads,
Makes our footsteps
Echo with whistles and catcalls.

To wear clothing as a form of freedom
And self-expression,
Means we are ASKING for men to rape us!
And it is drilled into us
That someone might get us pregnant.

So sometimes we hide behind invisible chains,
Lock the doors and windows after dark.
And sometimes we are submissive,
Sacrificing our pleasure for yours
Because we are afraid to be ourselves.
We still have this legacy
Of being property
And objects of desire.

We can looking in the mirror
And see no beauty,
Because we are not thin enough
Young enough, ________ enough.

When we hurt in love
We may turn it inwards and blame ourselves.
Afterall,
We were taught to hate ourselves.

So don't look at me
As if my body defines my worth.
Don't expect me to pleasure you
Just because you want me to.

Don't expect me to pleasure you
If you don't show me
Why I should trust you.
Why should I
Forget all this social conditioning,
Release my inhibitions?
And let this night take us somewhere
Beyond time and space.

Because if I wake up,
And you snuck out while I was sleeping
Looking for another one night stand,
Then soon enough it will be another man
Sitting right there
With the same look in his eyes,
And I will have one more shackle
Holding me back,
Keeping us apart.

Autumn Wishes

The fall is
Crisp yellow leaves
That fade to brown

I walk facing the wind
And when indoors
Bar windows against the cold

Frosty breath seeps in
With the dead of night
Tickles along the spine

October waits
While I sip hot drinks
Mourning summer

I grow fat on coconut milk
Unwilling to let go
Of warmer climes

Watch from the corner
Of sharp eyes
Winter's stealth approach

Together

We are worlds apart
I may beat on this drum
You shake this rattle
But we are out of time
Or vision of music
Is disimilar

We cannot make the rhythms
Interwine
This is no melody to your harmony
We cannot bring together
Our different worldviews
In one symphony

There's just cacophany
Harsh sounds
Over harsh sounds
An earful of agony
Mismatched misery

Until we develop
Musical tastes
Both bizarre and new
This sound is to hip hop
As hip hop is to rock
What rock is to classical

And soon we forget
The barriers
That once held us back
Lift the disguise
Of a new art-form