Previously Submitted

A few poems that didn’t make the cut

Photo by Imani Bahati on Unsplash

The Weird Games Children Play

The kids play Marco Polo
without a pool
Their little hands flail wildly
in the October sun
No one is IT
Everyone chases the sound
of voices unsure
of what they’re trying to find

The Delivery Guy Is Dyslexic

243 is 234 to a keen set of eyes
buried in the head of an
amazing human being yet
try as I might
I can’t be in two places
at one time

However, he doesn’t know this
My food sits in front
of a neighbor’s door waiting
for me to retrieve it
I send a message through the
app explaining the dilemma

The digital approval of
a refund chimes in
I really just want to eat
what I ordered
without the hassle
|but I’m also empathetic to
the plight of one’s struggle
I’ll order again tomorrow

The Dog Does Not Approve of the New Arrangement

I was feeling frisky the other night
so I decided to rearrange the
living room furniture
Afterward, I cleaned and
noticed the dog focused on this
new maze inside her home

She does not approve

I nod satisfied with what I’d
accomplished and my little
friend huffs in disgust
She sniffs the furniture for clues
of sameness — I explain
everything is still here

She tilts her head up to
look in my direction and I can’t
help but feel as though I’m
being graded on my performance

I did not pass her test

This Is Not Bravery

I don’t think it brave to
exist in skin the color
of spilled lies and wake up
to a face that never changes

I didn’t ask to bleed the same
blood yet I do
and authorities Other me before
I can utter a word

It is not bravery knowing I
can die for making a sharp
right turn without a signal
in a car registered in my name
with all the updated paperwork

One false move and I
could be hashtagged

The type of privilege that offers
safety is what I envision
for everyone but centuries of
racism begs to have its
face at the ball of life
No one’s dancing . . .
we’re all too afraid to move


All poems were written in October 2021.

Originally published in CRY Magazine via Medium.

day’s end

the dog sits and stares
at me–wonders, what ….
I think she knows today
nearly pummeled me
into submission

I walked a tightrope with
loose ends and software
glitches
my voice is cracking
and the last bit of
fight I have in me
will be used
to clean this day
off my skin

tomorrow isn’t promised
but I’m already praying
it comes with more
of an appeal than
what I struggled with
today

many of us can
conquer the hard times
and jump over the
obstacles but how
many of us are willing
to admit we want
just one day of
struggle-free experiences

just one day of
getting it done without
tiresome negotiations

just one day of
not wondering how
intense the next day
will be before it even
arrives

it’s nearly day’s end
and while I have all
of this welling up
inside me, I still
believe “joy comes
in the morning.”

*Originally shared via LinkedIn on Thursday, August 25, 2022 after a stressful day of work.

Motivational Affirmations To Self #2

Below, you will find a few affirmations I’ve been saying to myself daily and sharing them to LinkedIn. I hope you find them helpful, just as much as I have, and others too.

Every day, it gives me a boost in my morning to read something positive, and also follow up with a quote I can say to myself. I believe these quotes. They’re applicable to me, but perhaps, they’re applicable to you, too.

Our current atmosphere is tainted with pain, disbelief, the will to probably not go on, and exhaustion. Even more now, I need these motivational affirmations. I hope you can connect with them as well.

Life is meant to be lived, so I am living.