He was young; you knew better; he thought
he knew what was best for himself. He didn’t
listen to the voices talking back; he didn’t take
responsibility for his part things was pleasurable;
back then, it was all he knew yes, he still reflects,
to that timeframe once in a while; memories
of you imprinted on his brain.

You were a married woman, and he was the man
on the side, just another fling to add
to your little black book, another chocolate
to add to your trophy shelf of young flings
you did not love him.

It’s your drive, your ambition
that fuels your dreams
you’re motivated, you have a reason
to hope for better things in life
because you see the finish line
and feel encouraged to grow.

He used to rule my world, my complete
universe revolved around him I couldn’t
breathe without him, I thought I had
to own him like a piece of property.

I swore I would be his wife and took him
off the eligible bachelor’s list, so I kept him
for a while, falling in and out of love
all in the same day, but he made me mad,
and we didn’t talk for days.

I needed a break from him, so I took
some time to re-group, and from there
we grew apart and migrated to different worlds
it’s been days, it’s been months,
but what can I say?
I’m happy without HIM.

This young cat finally told his girl
he loved her, but she’s not sure
if she should dance with excitement now,
it took him long enough, but it’s a little
too late now even for a girl
like her who begged for the reassurance.

Now her well of love no longer stalks him
for the attention he barely gave,
or the conversations he scarcely engaged in,
or the phone calls that never came,
or the gifts he was too cheap to give
on birthdays and Christmas time or just
a simple surprise on a random day. She’s over
all of that slick-talking and dirty moves
—she’s moved on.

As long as I love myself first,
that is the basis of my love for God
and all people, to say I can love someone
other than myself is honestly a triumph
because love is hard work.

At the end of your stressful day, close
your eyes and erase the lack of appreciation,
overlook the absence of love, peace, hope,
freedom, and happiness you struggle with
to make your day whole again after you’ve given
so much of yourself away to make a living.

Remember all the days when God blesses you
enough to open your eyes to another day, release
the doubts like butterflies don’t fall asleep
with heaps of worries and regret weighing heavy
on your mind you may die in your sleep and
never get the chance to spread your wings and fly.

Why worry about tomorrow —today?
Living life to the fullest every day
should be our motto. Each moment
passes us by; moments we’ll never be able
to get back; stuck on what we can’t have,
we remain in limbo.

Afraid to grab hold of today
we let opportunities miss us
by calling it quits, complaining
while the breath is still present within us
we worry our way into the asylums
out of fear of our undiscovered potentialities
we take a backseat.

It’s a bittersweet awakening, rising
every excruciating day with no effort
on my part, all fatigued and grumpy. A repeated
episode from yesterday and every day before
a cup of tea gets the lengthy day ahead brewing.

It’s a discouraging situation. I’m exhausted,
slaving away endlessly into a wheelchair
retirement, I watch as things remain unchanged
in my circle. Maybe I’m not trying hard enough
and don’t want to admit it, I wallow
in self-pity, as my anxieties increase.

I’m undeniably at the end of my rope
on the brink of having a nervous breakdown,
steady feeling sorry for myself
thinking suicide is the best route
for my temporary issues.

I need a friend time to sit down and think
about my next steps ready to leave it all up
to GOD because I’m fighting a losing battle
I don’t know how to calm my mind down
long enough to think past my sorrows.

Each day I cry my little heart out
lying around carrying the weight of the world
on my shrunken shoulders, I’m the undefeated
heavyweight champion of pain there are many
blessings in my life, but my eyes wide open
remain closed to my beautiful life
—young, fresh, and hungry.

In need of hope, love, and peace of mind, I need
to find my displaced self I live in fear of today,
but I’m still holding out for tomorrow, then I start
thinking negative; maybe I should die today
I’m stuck in an empty barrel; it’s just me
and my loneliness coexisting as one
trying-hard-to-be-happy little person.

Jesus says he loves me; I know,
and He forgives my abortion, I need
to stop beating myself up,
but it’s hard to forgive me.