“Black Woman,” by Fee Thomas

Photo: kamdora.com

Note: Reprinted with the permission of Fee Thomas, because great words must never disappear. William Spivey

You let him beat you down, make you feel so small

Tell you the Truth, it mystifies me all

It’s like you don’t even know who you are

And here it is, your genes have traveled so far

Sister friend, why do you look at me so quizzically?

Do you not know that you are tied to your lineage intrinsically?

So here you sit, proving that you are the strongest of your line

Go ahead, shake your head — that’s just fine

Lean back awhile I’ll tell you more

Your line goes back to when they first hit America’s shore

In slave ships they were; bound and gagged

Until they hit the marketplace for sale and tagged

On to the plantation, for beatings and rapes

The daring ones… up for escapes

Your lineage surviving mass disease and incarceration

Your people living through racism and segregation

Jim Crow, lynchings, mass inequality

The women in your line said I’ll beat all three

So as you sit now in your skin

I want you to take a moment and remember your kin

Evolution always moves up

To you, I tip my cup

Because you exist, that proves you are the best of your line

Sister friend you are doing just fine

Just do one thing for me, please

This moment, I must seize

The next time he wants to tear you down or call you “bitch”

Make sure to tell him there’s one little hitch

You carry too many great women along with you for a word that shady

Besides, you are too busy being a lady

You are from what the slave ships stayed alive

Because yes, Darling, only the strong survive

“When I write there is no thought. It is complete invocation of Spirit and heart. I write, simply, because I cannot stop.” Fee Thomas

Photo: Clare Songbirds

Released by: Clare Songbirds Publishing House https://www.claresongbirdspub.com/shop/coming-soon/

“Some Places Are Not For Staying”

In 1996, Prince released a cover of The Stylistics, “Betcha By Golly Wow.” Before he began singing, he said, “Sometimes the words of another… seem to work out fine.

In the movie, “Finding Forrester.” Sean Connery as William Forrester said, ” I helped him find his own words… by starting with some of mine.”

Sometimes you run across the words of others that just inspire you to do something with them. I recently read a poem by Fee Thomas where a line jumped into my mind and has been wrestling with me to write something about it. I asked permission to use those words. “Some places are not for staying!” This is the result.

 

SOME PLACES ARE NOT FOR STAYING

 

Some places are not for staying

You may find yourself in them from time to time

They whisper for you to stay for they are lonely places wanting the company of your misery

They tell you, “Stay if you like”

They pretend to be comfortable places

But they’re not for staying

Photo: Codewit.com

 

Grieving is not for staying

We all experience loss and handle it differently

But mourning is for a season, not forevermore

We love a person no less when we move on from grief

Forget them not but wrap yourself in the warm and good memories

Grieving… not for staying

 

Some relationships are not for staying

If pain exceeds joy or truth is never certain

When what you deserve is not what you get

Staying may mean blocking your true joy

Some relationships… not for staying

Photo: Cosmopolitan.com

 

Pride is not a place for staying

Even visits should be short

It costs you much and gives next to nothing

Pride eviscerates truth, honor and trust

All for a momentary satisfaction

It rears its head again and again, when you notice it’s approach you should instead embrace humility and grace

Not for staying

 

The past is not for staying

Rather than trying to recreate old memories

Create new ones

Live not in the footsteps of past triumphs

Forfeit not the present

Learn from the past, let it guide you

Don’t stay there, it will only hold you back

Photo: Wellspring

 

Love is not for simply staying

It’s not for staying because love is a dynamic thing

It requires sustenance, time and effort

Once discovered it can fade away so keep moving toward the light

Or the darkness of its absence will overtake you

 

Frustration, Disappointment, Fear, Envy, Hatred, Financial Hardship, Depression…

All places not to stay

How to get out when you find yourself in a not for staying place?

Find someone who’s been there before and knows the way out

Pick a destination away from that place and make plans to go

Pray and act

Pray and act

Don’t pray and wait

Pray and act

Photo: Getty Images

 

There are places not for staying

Ultimately good for only wallowing and pain

Knowing you’re there is half the battle

Leaving begins with a single step

Some places are not for staying

 

Featured Photo: thenakedconvos.com

Fee Thomas at feethomas.com

Many of you may have seen the poems I posted on behalf of someone special with no forum of her own. I posted a few of my favorites which can be found here:

https://enigmainblack.wordpress.com/category/poetry/fee-thomas/

Fee now has her own blog and a place to share the words that captivated me. I wish her much success and I look forward to seeing more of her week!

Go check her out at feethomas.com

Enigma in Black

 

“When I write there is no thought. It is complete invocation of Spirit and heart. I write, simply, because I cannot stop.”  Fee Thomas

 

 

 

 

Black Woman by Fee Thomas

You let him beat you down, make you feel so small

Tell you the Truth, it mystifies me all

It’s like you don’t even know who you are

And here it is, your genes have traveled so far

Sister friend, why do you look at me so quizzically?

Do you not know that you are tied to your lineage intrinsically?

 

So here you sit, proving that you are the strongest of your line

Go ahead, shake your head – that’s just fine

Lean back awhile I’ll tell you more

Your line goes back to when they first hit America’s shore

In slave ships they were; bound and gagged

Until they hit the marketplace for sale and tagged

On to the plantation, for beatings and rapes

The daring ones… up for escapes

 

Your lineage surviving mass disease and incarceration

Your people living through racism and segregation

Jim Crow, lynchings, mass inequality

The women in your line said I’ll beat all three

So as you sit now in your skin

I want you to take a moment and remember your kin

 

Evolution always moves up

To you, I tip my cup

Because you exist, that proves you are the best of your line

Sister friend you are doing just fine

Just do one thing for me, please

This moment, I must seize

The next time he wants to tear you down or call you “bitch”

Make sure to tell him there’s one little hitch

 

You carry too many great women along with you for a word that shady

Besides, you are too busy being a lady

You are from what the slave ships stayed alive

Because yes, Darling, only the strong survive

 

“When I write there is no thought. It is complete invocation of Spirit and heart. I write, simply, because I cannot stop.”

 

A Single Blade of Grass by Fee Thomas

Tonight I am grateful for being present in the moment For sitting outside, breathing, rocking in the chair, for admiring the beauty of a solitary birdhouse

For sitting outside, breathing, rocking in the chair

For admiring the beauty of a solitary birdhouse

Then my eyes gaze over at one uncommon blade of grass being teased by the wind

The blade is vibrant and strong and holding his own, all by himself

And I think, My God, it’s been a long, dark, bitter, brutal winter- so much so that most of it escapes me- but look at that, underneath the heft and burden of all of that heavy, dank snow that tiny little blade of grass was thriving all along

Still alive

Still in one piece

Alone, but His

What a miracle!

At that moment I realize that that’s what miracles do- they inspire awe and excitement, so tonight I am grateful for that miracle: that tiny absolutely significant blade of grass, which taught me everything today

Thank you, God

Grateful.

 

“When I write there is no thought. It is complete invocation of Spirit and heart. I write, simply, because I cannot stop.”

Too Many Good Boys

 

 

He wants to be a good boy.

He wants to be a good boy with dreams and aspirations.

He so desperately wants to be a good boy but he looks all around him.

All he sees is shades of brown and black from the housing projects that have been shut down.

He wants to be a good boy but his teacher corrects his grammar making him feel like a fool.

He wants to be a good boy but he still wets the bed and his momma whoops his ass every time.

He wants to be a good boy but there is a different uncle in his apartment every night.

He wants to be a good boy but his stomach is growling.

He wants to be a good boy but he can’t read.

He wants to be a good boy but someone told him to drop this package off down the street.

He wants to be a good boy, dreams of becoming a doctor; but doesn’t know any.

He wants to be a good boy and then someone gives him a gun to hold.

He wants to be a good boy in his footie pajamas watching cartoons with Mr. Bear but his childhood is over.

He wants to be a good boy but now it’s time to bring income into the house.

He wants to be a good boy but he’s skipping a school that never cared about him to slang on the street corner.

He so desperately wants to be a good boy with dreams and aspirations but he’s heading for the penitentiary.

“When I write there is no thought. It is a complete invocation of Spirit and Heart. I write, simply, because I cannot stop.”  Fee Thomas