Monday, June 6, 2016

Because I Wonder What Brock Allen Turner's Dad Would Have Said if His Son Had Eaten Human Flesh for a Mere 20 Minutes

Cannibal Culture

He was hungry
So he ate her
Hey, you know
Boys will be
Carnivores
She said, “No.”
But it was only
One time
She should’ve
Done more to
Fight back
Her hands
Weren’t tied
She said, “No.”
But, she really
Meant, “Yes.”
Plus, it was after
He had already
Rooted his teeth
She left the house
Half dressed
What did she
Expect to happen
With the meatiest
Parts of her body
Exposed
These cattle
They ought to
Know better
These hens
Never seem
To learn their
Lesson
You know
These girls
Can’t make up
Their minds
You know
These girls
Can’t manage
Their wants
You know
These men
Have needs
You can’t
Hold his hand
And refuse to
Feed him
You can’t
Have culinary
Conversations
And then act
All shy
When he
Expects a feast
You went back
To his apartment
What did you think
Would happen?
You sat comfortably
At a set table
You willingly
Went into his kitchen


He was hungry
So he gorged himself
On her fat
Disemboweled her
Consumed contents
Of open cavity
Cupped hands
In shallow pool
Of pulsing wound
Drank until no more thirst
Chewed through muscle
Gnawed on tendons
Until incisors accosted
Bones
He video taped it
He took pictures of her
Dismembered
He told his friends
And they told him
That they had
Tasted human
Before
Ex-girl friends
Gone missing
Schoolmates
Neighbors and strangers
A pile of rotting remains
Who’s names
They barely remember
They were hungry
So they fed themselves
Hey, you know
Boys will be
Carnivores
Hey, you know
These whores
Cannot be built
Into housewives
You’d better
Burn down the building
And start from
The beginning
You know these
Women weren’t
Raised right
These single mothers
Don’t parent properly
You know these
Young girls
Are bold nowadays
You’ve seen these
10 year olds
Who look 18
How’s he supposed
To know
Who to bite
And who to keep his
Mouth away from
It’s impossible
You’re illogical
Stop being unreasonable
The Bible has you
Acting
Like you don’t want
To have your flesh
Torn from your bones
The Qu’ran has you
Thinking
There’s something
Wrong
With becoming
Remnants of meat
A man will pick
From between
His teeth
You think
You’re too good
To be consumed
You are stupid
To assume
A man will
Control his urges
It’s your
Responsibility
To keep him
Preoccupied
It’s your job
To convince him
You deserve
To keep your skin
Stay sober
In the company
Of male acquaintances
Stay out of the cars
Of men you know
Casually
Cover yourself
When you
Are the subject
Of his gaze
Stay out
Of bars
Parks
And alleyways
Don’t invite him
Over after the
Neighbors have
Lowered their blinds
Don’t travel
Where there is
No one to watch out
For you
You don’t know
What to do
In these situations
In this big, beasting
World
In these forests
Little Red,
He will rip the hood
From your head
And your scalp
From your skull
Right along with it
These women
Need to learn
Not to be a tease
Not be loose
Not to be bitches
Not to be rude,
Bitches,
Keep your pretty little
Knees
Together
You’d better
Smile
When he advances
When he compliments
When he whistles
When he howls
Don’t provoke him
He was born hungry
You know,
Boys will be greedy

©2013 Blakbird Publishing

Friday, June 3, 2016

I'm Actually Gonna Leave My House This Weekend! And Next Week, Too!


I've got the nerve to have things to do this weekend! Apparently, I think I'm grown. You can have the nerve to have some things to do, too! Let's do them together.

On Saturday (that's tomorrow) I'll be reading in the 1:15 pm Poets and Allies set at LitFest Pasadena in the Zona Rosa alley. There will be other amazing poets there as well. If you're in the area, come and see us! Come and say, "Hi". The entire day is FREE and takes place all over the Pasadena Playhouse District. There's even a Octavia Butler  & Afro Futerism presentation at 11 am that sadly I won't be able to go to because my 2 year old has dance class. Bring yourselves out and enjoy!





Also, if you're free on Monday night, I'll be a featured poet at Poets and Allies, which is a reading that also takes place in the lovely city of Pasadena. It starts at 7 pm and is also FREE. It will be taking place at the Sidewalk Cafe which is located at 2057 N. Los Robles, Pasadena CA 91104. I'd love to see your face!





In other, not necessarily poetry related goings ons, you may or may not have heard that Black Lives Matters Activist Jasmine Richards was tried and found guilty of felony lynching. Yeah, you read that right... FELONY LYNCHING. So, here we have a clear case of the criminal justice system being used as a weapon against activists. This is not a new phenomenon, however Jasmine has become the first political prisoner of the Black Lives Matters movement. In an effort to support her and send a clear message to the powers that be regarding the mishandling of the law and false imprisonment of Jasmine Richards, I encourage you to sign this petition and if you're able, attend her sentencing on Tuesday, June 7th in Pasadena (damn, Pasadena is lit!). The hearing will take place at 8 am at 300 E. Walnut Street. The objective is to pack the courthouse.



Also, Tuesday is the Primary, so if you're in California and registered to vote, do yo' thang.

I think that's about it for right now. If I don't see you in the next few days, I certainly hope to in the future. As always, keep up with me on InstagramTwitter and Facebook. If you haven't already gotten your copy of All My Exes Want Me Back, Uppity Negress, or the classic Five Three and Rising, you can fix that situation at blakisbeautiful.com. Oh, and did you know that you can sign up for my email list? Yeah, shawty! Do the damn thang, right 'chea:





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Alright, be good and take care of yourself!


Thursday, June 2, 2016

Happy


I should literally be writing one of like 20 essays that are supposed to go in a book I'm co-writing with my bestie about black feminist theology that's supposed to have the first draft done in about 6 weeks, right now. I have a grand total of no essays done, thus far. I'm halfway done with 2. Yeah, I should be working on that right now. Simultaneously, as I'm typing this my 2 year old is harassing me  into having make-believe conversations with her imaginary friends on an old iPod that she's calling "her phone". She's also making me "take pictures" with her "phone". Oh, now she's combing my hair with a plastic spork. It's all happening over here right now.

I've been meaning to write a blog entry basically all year. I feel like I say this every time I return to this blog. But ya'll don't know my life. I'm currently working 2 jobs and in school full time. I'm is tired. But what I popped in here to say is, "I'm is happy."

The past 33 days have legit been some of the happiest days I've had in years. Nigga, years. And despite the fact that I'm overwhelmed and feel like I've been run over by a train most of the time, I also feel very fulfilled and accomplished. I have about 1,000 things that I'm working on and I hope to be able to share them all here as they're happening in the near future. I've been reconnecting with friends. As I've mentioned, I've been writing. I've been performing again. I'm planning trips. I'm being a boss bitch. It's a wonderful time. When I actually manage to make time to sleep, I sleep well. I'm in good health. There are so many good things on the horizon.

I feel like I've come back to myself. I write all of this to say that if you're feeling not so great, unfulfilled, burdened, and/or lack optimism, there's hope. I think that you can change things and I believe in your ability to do so. It's not magic, though I do have the black girl kind. What it is is making the decision to unburden yourself, advocate for yourself, and perhaps do the complete opposite of what you've done. It's breakthrough time.

Actually, it's bedtime. But I have a school assignment to do. I shall be back to share. Soon, I promise.