lately i've been feeling stumped
because even my own roots do
not ground me firmly
but they want to
bury me
alive

We're born, we live, we die.
That's called life. What is life
about? For so many, it's just
about survival. For a tiny number,
it is about acquisition of things.
For the blessed, it is about love--
love of self, love of another,
love of all. I wrote once that
the greatest thing you can ever
be is your real self. To be true to
your real self is to be true to all
others, true to the Cosmos.
Fame is a social cosmetic.
Wealth is unconscious com-
pensation for lack of self-love
and thus for lack of love for
others;  political power much
the same. Leadership is an
amalgam of real power, self-
love and love of others, and
the courage to do the right
thing. It is uncommon and
precious. To live your life
fully, you must be fully
your real self.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS

And over time,
My pen stopped bleeding
But my heart didn't

The forgotten essential workers
Who is seldom mention.
Who is so often belittle,
Porters,
Cooks,
Laundry workers
Dish-washers,
Elevator-repair men
Recreations,
Front Desk clerks
Certified Nurse’s Aide
Home health aide
Waiters,
God! Oh how hard we work!
Private’s aides

Now as we celebrate Juneteenth 19
Black lives matters, can we really be seen
After four hundred years of oppressions
Can we tossed back river of tears
we are in 2020 is this our commission?

We as Essential workers in your nursing homes
Being tested twice a week,
By your essential worker phlebotomist
Who puncture my vein with his cannula?
For the governor executives order
listen up you uncouth nurses who poke
The swab sticks deep into my nose.
Listen this quackery has to end!
Pandemic, politics, election strategy
We essential need more respect.
You with your white privileges, and your treats

(RE: PCR swabbing, week being on Wednesday and ends on Tuesday.
If you work 4 or more days you need to be swabbed 2x per week
In a 48hrs time frame, if not you will be taken off the schedule
You will be humiliated, said the Administrator  Mr. Sal
Because he is not a babysitter there to reminds you..
Said a non- professional white privileges)
as the city navigate the pandemic
moving on to injustices of systemic racism,
poverty, militarism and
a war economy:

Mr. Governor Cuomo: I cannot breathe..
I
Mr. Governor Cuomo: I cannot breathe

You gave back only a fraction of what I gave. Leaving me to wonder where all the other pieces went.

And I gave you all of me.

It's been two thousand years,
But here we are again.
An innocent dark-skinned man
Was lynched,
And it engages and enlightens our world.

Let's not make this a habit.

And Pilate's here too,
Cowering in ******'s bunker,
Washing his tiny hands,
Blathering: I'm not Responsible.
That's what truth is.

(you are so silly & unpredictable)

today, instagram accidentally
informed me
that congratulations are in order.

but instead of congrats,
i will share wisdom for her, not you:

when he goes into a rage
that scares you so much
you lock yourself in your bedroom
crying and shaking,
and he screams
"****!"
and punches the door,
you should probably call it quits.

when he starts listening to different music
and using words and phrases he normally doesn't
that means he's cheating on you
with a "friend"
"he has no interest in"
whose house you once stayed at.

maybe he didn't mention to you
that he finds pregnant women's
bodies repulsive? or maybe he
just changed his silly little mind.

your effort
your love
your support
and your sacrifices
will = 0
when he has decided
he doesn't feel like
"having the kind of life"
you have painstakingly built.

he has no loyalty.
promises mean nothing.
he lies.
he sneaks.
he is mean.
and selfish.
and will utterly destroy you
when he feels like it.

just so you know,
he is capable of
discarding a partner in life
of 14 years in an afternoon,
never to be seen again.

you really got a winner.

and you best not be surprised.
cuz i'm raising the red flag for you, sister.

when he leaves you quite literally penniless
and homeless
on your 33 birthday
in your bed
  in your own home
    with another woman,
don't act surprised.
especially if it's someone you know.

and that's not the half of it
ha! if you only knew.

When words go blind
Tracing one ideas: or ignoring
Would be so hard to recalled
Through darkness one will fumble
Leaving a life of consequences
Visionless: exactly; exactly

Does faith make us stronger?
I do not trust my work place
Ten percent of us do the right thing
And ninety percent do not give a ****
So, be smart take care of yourself

Take that ten percent for you and your family
Break down your life in four parts
Love yourself first,
Be vigilant,
No more giving others 100 percent of you:

Make every hour in the day work for you.
Always take half an hour to look in the mirror
Before going on to the next hour..
The man or woman in the mirror


As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.” ~Proverbs 27:1