My hands are washed clean

My hands are washed clean
Soaked in dreams
Scrubbed in set backs
Rinsed in yes we can
Air dried while running through
through the streets
Celebrating all things
Now
Are really possible.

Jrg 2008

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff R. Ghee

Sound as His Mistress

he choose to run around town
with the imagination of sound
as his mistress

he liked the way of sound

musical notes and background sounds
are some of places they visited
they walked along a crescendo holding hands
and kissed behind the back beat

they would hum into each other’s ears
snuggle close
listening for the interlude between songs

if they were caught
he could deny their existence
because no one was listening

unable to remember any of the words
to their love song
he often listened to singing birds
hoping to catch a familiar sound

silence struck without warning
he is deaf and fallen out of love
and fallen out of the rhythm
of love

with no where to go
no one to listen to
he sits alone waiting
for sounds of love

2006 jrg
Copyright © 2009 by Jeff R. Ghee

Breath and Breathe

I have been

holding my breath

for hours

waiting for

the day to end

Only to find out

I can't

breathe at night

jrg 6-16-09

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff R. Ghee

Sleep

eye lids crept open
eyes didn't focus
mind is in motion

I feel my skull beneath my skin
i search for my soul
through my finger tips
running along the edge of my emotions

no finger prints
my fist are clinched
holding onto
smudged remains

i have rope burns
down to the bones in my hand
this rope has been hanging
here for a long time
from which i hang these words
now i can sleep


jrg
6/11/09
Copyright © 2009 by Jeff R. Ghee

Mud Face

mud face
not because I'm black

i tripped and fell face first
in a mud puddle
the reflection in the dark water was not mine
i turned myself over
it was me
i wiped off my face
it was not there
i cried into my hands
it felt familiar

i ran to look in the mirror
my face was behind my reflection
looking at the back of my head
i turned quickly to catch a glimpse

i saw myself
walking out the back side of the mirror
i went back to the mud puddle
there i was face down in my own reflection

my face still in my hands
still crying
still familiar
the reflection
still in dark water
it was still not mine

i stood over the mud puddle
reached up and turned myself over again
walked away
leaving behind
the mud
my face in my hands
my reflection in the mirror behind my head
catching a glimpse of me
face down in the mud puddle


jrg 01/9/06
Copyright © 2009 by Jeff R. Ghee

Black Hands Have Been Crying

Black hands crying
pushing dirt left and right
dirt under fingernails
digging into dark places
blackness smeared down the sides
of a hole so deep
eternity gave up trying to find the bottom
this is where many have decided to bury
their own self-blackness
beyond the grasp of a reaching hand
beyond the echoes of a voice calling out
hey black boy
hey black girl
why don’t you all come-on-back
Barack
Is here.

Jrg
Nov 2008

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff R. Ghee