She Is A Woman

 She Is A Woman
by
Batili Ashabi

They live in the past ... they still do
Clutching their decrepit notions and views
Rigid in mindsets
Myopic in thought process
Stuck in their pasts
Unchanging in their stance
We need to knock them really hard
We need to throw their asses out in the yard

Image Credit: Artist Unknown

In the kitchen and the other room?
What's that all about?
For food and rumping no doubt
And that's all a woman's good?
I ask these oafs
These geriatric fools
Who see no better use
For womanhood
Other than trivialities
Other than frivolities
Is there no iota of substance
Nothing remotely significant
In the one who carries the womb
That births the entire manhood?

She is "trump groped"
Smeared and thumb poked
Muffled, subdued
Subjected to ridicule
Whipped by your ego
Silenced by your veto
For how long O man
Will you trample on your woman?
For what length of time
Will her sufferings suffice?

Enough already!
Not a day longer!

Enough Trumphari!
Your vituperating days are over!

She will not be denigrated
No she won't be derided
She is more than a pussy
Certainly not your snack cookie
She is not confined to your kitchen
She is not your pet dog or kitten

She's dared to soar
And rise beyond the Stars
Where the galaxies spread
There she dwells
Amongst the best
And she is a Woman!
She is not a Man!

© Batili Ashabi 2016

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Woman

  Image by © Moyo Okediji, ‘Construction Work Lady,’ Akure, Nigeria, 2012.

Woman [Title]

after love is made
buried & forgotten
deep in the cushion
cradling life

she wakes

sedimentary minerals
float, suspended
safely, in the
amniotic bubble

she daydreams

prehistoric memories
lain down
by the tickle
of first words
through the
chamber wall

she closes her eyes

the foliation
is set, clear
parallel planes
metamorphosis
complete

she weeps

rare formed,
she resists forced
temperature & pressure
to crystallize
eternally

she toils

weathering
speaks to her
character & commitment
her crag is famous
admired & loved

she persists

fertility & survival
is the wage
flesh, bone, & blood
the cost of labor

she provides

silky nourishment
gushes through her
mountain ridges
to pools promising
health & strength,
measured only by
oppression

she knows

idleness is vanity
pride is folly, &
continual change
& chance
proceed death

she rests

a diamond in the rough

© Z. Hall, 2015

Dedicated to all women around the world who toil in the worst conditions: societal, employment, romantic, personal, familial, and all human relationships in between.

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Where Art Thou, Obama?

Where Art Thou, Obama?

by

Z. Hall

Where Art Thou, Obama? [Title]

Obama, Obama, where art thou, Obama?

Americans slain in the street

Unarmed, naked to the world

Rights assassinated

Blood pools curdle in the sun

Stains on Main Streets

Here, there

In every state

Mothers bend over in pain

Fathers fight tears of helplessness

Families torn asunder by systemic intolerance

Communities brutalized by the rule of law

Laws long-since divested of their humanity

Justice lies in state

Our children call from the grave

Obama, Obama, where art thou, Obama?

Poem: Z. Hall

Image: BBC News

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Works of Art

Works of Art

by

Z. Hall

Amalgams of disparate fragments
drawn together
at times
gentle as Spring's rain on a daisy petal
violently like lava spewed from St. Helen
often, randomly
fusing with entities
contouring
thoughts
expressions fleeting and concrete
memories forgotten.

We are
works
of art.

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Self-Portrait as Orpheus and Eurydice

Linda Rodriguez

Linda Rodriguez is the author of three novels and two books of poetry. Her first novel, "Every Last Secret," won the Malice Domestic Competition. Her second novel, "Every Broken Trust," was a Las Comadres National Latino Book Club selection. Linda's latest novel, "Every Hidden Fear," will be published by St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne Books on May 5, 2014. Linda is president of the Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime, the genre of her novels.

Heart's Migration (2010 Thorpe Menn Award for Literary Excellence) and Skin Hunger are Linda's books of poetry. She is a recipient of the Elvira Cordero Cisneros Award and the Midwest Voices and Visions Award. 

Self-Portrait as Orpheus and Eurydice

by

Linda Rodriguez

Image provided by Linda Rodriguez

Knowing his music was empty without her,

he had to dive into those dark waters

from which none returned except as flotsam,

crustacean-nibbled and bloated with the gases of decay.
How long he hesitated, songless but safe,

on the bank. She watched him decide

through the eternal minutes of her dreading

that he could decide

to abandon the notes shimmering in the air

around his head, ignore that nimbus of power

from beauty, and walk mute

through an ordinary life. She waited in fear

until he threw himself into the waves and sank

without struggle.

Almost out, he could feel her behind him

like an insistent melody pushing through his fingers

to reach the strings. He was so full of the moment,

his greatest song, bringing her back.
Such power—who knew what he could do?

He wanted to see the wonder in her eyes,

needed the perfect last note,

pure and silvery and light as bone,

the end of sound.

Published in Heart’s Migration (Tia Chucha Press, 2009)

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Resurrection

Resurrection

by

Z. Hall

Water falls in drops
turning on bulbs
in Spring

Rollin’ off rooftops
give drink to thirsty shrubs
they sing

Plunging down spouts
the tulip tiger cub

rises from Winter’s grave as king

Image credit: Unknown

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We Chill

We Chill
by
Z. Hall

We mighty chill. He
Always thrills. Me

Rise early. He
All worldly. Me

Nimbly in. He
Heart wins. We

Jazz June. We
Love soon.

~~~~~

Listen to Gwendolyn Brooks read We Real Cool.

Image credit: Peaceful Lovers by Monica Stewart

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Object of Affection

Object of Affection

by

Z. Hall

Rugged in handsomeness

sleek and sturdy of build

Though far from ugly

did not stop my eye

Up close

observation

smooth moves

practical in application

Expressively

in style we differ

joined purpose in the game

Unlikely pair

visions shared

attraction beyond skin deep

together and apart

we art

Your embrace-ability

I need

I do

You’ve grown on me

with you I create without end

my favorite pen

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Biblical Proportion Haters

Biblical Proportion Haters

by

 Z. Hall

Don't hide your light under a basket

Oh how I love the Lord!

Put it on a stand and let it shine for all
He’s good all the time!

Let your good deeds shine out for all to see
Bear witness to His greatness!

Matthew 5:15 and16
they quote thee, praise be

‘Til your rays become an irritant
unique and brighter than theirs, you see

Turn
destroy your love from others
you too, in the process

"They think they know everything!"

Those five little words
the grace of their God they unmake

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