i can only be what I am and i make no apologies for it i want you more than i am comfortable/and one day that may turn into a heated need that need coaxed thoroughly and expertly by you morphing into an ache that ruins and separates me from anyone else…
i would be perfect then, i muse molded into this thing of awesome beauty clothed and unclad vision of all that you may have ever wanted…to be the last thing you taste in the morning, and that last thing you want after the sun has gone and the moon takes his place to watch you feast upon me and all that is female and saved for you to roll, tumble, fall and be claimed by you taken, but freely given that i may show you exactly what anticipation of you has inspired me to perform to have you as i want my name being said over perfect lips with the effort of breath and the gentle tenderness of seraphim ravage you and have you hold me tighter than the air encased inside you and your pleas for more being my only satiation to give you me, as none has ever had me before
This one is a personal favorite, just like Enkindle. If you like this piece, get a piece of this magic by clicking here (this piece is included in Love Songs Of The Unrequited, Volume 1. There are 3 Volumes of Poetry. Support dope Black women writers and get a copy! It’s quarantine, might as well love on the one you enclosed with. -JBHarris
and dream of loves dreams,
soft caresses and kisses that hunger and linger only for me…
to taste and trap and suckle upon what is to be mine
and what is promised/yes to sleep sleep perchance to dream
ah such things of love make heroes fools of their own folly/
writhing with innate aches no drug no spell no rune no chant may cure
the disease less fever/the careful poison that beckons that tempts that teases
maddening sinew and bone/bestowing passion to the masses and fuel to the soul/
ah alas to be restless in such torment/
to be held in it/thrive in it/loved by it
keep me close i pray as morning and its larks come forth/keep me hidden from it/the light is all too real/all to tangible/ allowing such visions to fade as vapor/grasping gasping for what is never there/yet what will always remain
blessed and taken by the sun/anointed by moon/keep me close to this love…my love…/keep such harmonies fresh and supple
this need this humbling need to have it/to taste it once more/ such things divide the mind and enrage the heart/ this need this need….i must have more.
This one is a personal fave! This was written as a poetry exercise in Dr. Wall’s IntroductionTo Poetry class in Fall 2011. We had to write a poem about one of the items in the room. I chose this pretty, ornate black and gold fan. Imagination took over from there! -JBHarris
This one is special because I was in alow when I wrote it. Every so often I read it to remind myself of my own dopeness and magic. I hope in such darkness, this can be light. Be strong, dear ones. -JBHarris
For so long, I
forgot what strength
was and the ability to
realize what it truly is
I have been shattered more
than once,
being forced on such
occasions to put shards
back together on instinct
not truly knowing how,
and at the same time knowing
that the whole, once I make it
so will be different than
it ever could hope before
somehow along this path
the fire that I relied on was misplaced,
the passion was taken
what I once saw in myself was
falsified, made a mockery of
I had no way of knowing that it was
gone until I made attempts to
find it once more and could not
understand why I could not draw upon it
such things cause the heart to cry,
force the spirit into dark confusion
yet, hope remains…stable and true…pure beneath the underneath
lying in wait for me to find it once
more, whispering softly that I can, I shall, I will
and it can be done
I find these shards, moving past the fear of
losing them, and even looking for them
fearing that they may never be what I wish, will and want
them to be again
I find them in weeds, among the sands, in murky waters
and in roses, they were always here
as the pieces are found, they are put together
slowly, glowing in faith…the faith that was never taken
my spirit heals, begins to hover
the embers surrounding this jewel that I
hold, glow and crackle
it has never been extinguished, merely smothered,
smoldered, and unsuccessfully snuffed…somehow the
embers…these small certain things remain
they will burst forth soon
I find more shards,
more lost pieces of me that I thought
I would never attain again
the charm, the wit, the sureness of self…
Hidden in tall grasses, behind the vacant and
unused potential
these embers become small flames then
soft burning begins
it whispers louder now
telling me that all that I need, I have
and I will always have
I am not my circumstances, stumblings, shortcomings or laziness
I need not look to those who
have no intent on showing me whom I may
be, who I am or what I am capable of
my spirit becomes whole
again, the fire returns, the fire that
I have sought in others through word
and deed,
I find more shards to this jewel
this ever-present and precious gem
it is mine to protect, and I have not done so
at the best of my talent
as I realize these things, the more shards
appear,
I am half done with it now,
each time I acknowledge where I have fallen
I know that I cannot remain amongst these that still remain
wallowing in what they may change but have
no desire to…they have lost themselves
just as I have…just as I did
I wipe my brow, bandage what is broken
and I continue, I have no
choice but to do so
I must find all of me…I must seek my jewel
my own power
my ever-present being…I must prove to myself
that the eyes that peer back into mine
in mirrors are truly mine and
I am a worthy and able to look back into them
they will no longer be chilled and distant
passion will return, faith will be
squared and solidified, the fire will fuel this drive
I will not linger, or tarry where I am not
able to keep this jewel into
the light where it must be
to allow the light to decorate the many
facets, spilling and dispelling the
darkness that wishes only to
draw me into its fathoms once more
where there is no warmth
no trust, no love, only deception and stagnance
I must arise from this from which
I have fallen into
preserve the jewel that has be given to
me, I must find all the shards
the light must return to it
it must in order to heal and soothe my
aches, and wash away bruises and tears
once it is whole, I will be
whole, I will be me once more,
lost nevermore
Jennifer-Phylon Bush (now Harris) August 6, 2004 -Personal canon
I Breathe Fire 