The Lexus Verses and Flow Season 5 Premiere is But Hours Away

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Remember the time that I filmed an episode of Lexus Verses and Flow? Maybe you don't. Maybe I was quiet about it. My bad. Well, that's definitely a thing that happened. I spent a strong 12 or more hours away from my baby, which is a thing that hasn't happened since the Reconstruction Era, and I got to meet some sweet folk and say some lil' poems that I wrote. It was perfect. It was also a great honor to be invited to share my work and be amongst these poets. I hear that season 5 is something special and look forward to watching it. I hope you'll tune in as well. Lexus Verses and Flow Season 5 premieres on TV One on July 30th. Visit the Lexus Versus and Flow Facebook page for a sneak peek at the season and follow Lexus Versus and Flow on Twitter and Instagram for show updates, artist info, images, and other fun stuff.

So, I Didn't Die This Weekend

I didn't die this weekend. Listen, that's a gigantic accomplishment, because I definitely felt like I was going up to the big poetry slam in the sky when I woke up on Saturday morning. The Devil has been entirely too busy, lately and that dude tried to take me out... I had the dreaded Mastitis. Can you believe it? A G like me?

You're like, "Nikki, what is Mastitis?" And I'm like, "You don't want to know."

But, I'll tell you anyway. Because you're that damn nosey.

Mastitis is a byproduct of Original Sin. Damn you, Eve. I'm kidding. But not really. It's basically an affliction that nursing mothers can fall victim to if a clogged milk duct decides to get crunk. And by "crunk", I mean, "infected". I felt like I'd been run over by Halle Berry. I've never been that hurt and fatigued in my life, except for maybe when I gave birth... and that's a maybe.

I was seriously considering a visit to Urgent Care, especially after reading that Mastitis is typically treated with antibiotics, but I consulted the doula that had assisted me with my daughter's birth and she basically said that I didn't have to. She gave me a few tips on how to get better at the house and I decided to attempt at healing thyself before running to the doctors.

Speaking of giving birth, oh yeah, that baby that I had... I wasn't able to do much of anything with her in the state that I was in. Enter, two of my besties who proceeded to swoop in like caped women and hold The Rose and I down. They made sure she was diapered, fed, supervised, and entertained while I worked on not dying. I can't thank them enough.

My motherless child, in Chinatown. Photo Cred: Judy Holiday

The lessons here are many, but, in short: (1) Get and keep some good friends. They may very literally save your life a time or two, and (2) keep some garlic and therapeutic grade lavender essential oil on deck, and be prepared to drink gallons of water and sleep like Rip Van Winkel, since these are apparently the cures to every affliction known to humankind. Also, Soy Lecithin, hot showers, regular massage of the affected breast, constant pumping and/or nursing, and cabbage leaves in the bra work wonders. With that said, I will go forth in good boob health and hope you all do the same.

White America Does Not Want to See a Zombie Apocalypse (Video)

You all have Mahogany L. Browne to thank for the fact that this video exists. I wrote the poem and was just going to be done with it. But she told me to record it to be a part of an incredible collection of poems and a movement known as "Black Poets Speak Out". I respect my elders and try to be obedient when I can, so the next day, I recorded  this hours old poem. Shout out to my husband, who wanted to do a two camera set up and take on the task of editing the footage. Shout out to my 14 month old Rosie, who proceeded to act like a certified lunatic the moment we began filming and therefore thwarted those plans. Shout out to the pair of them, for taking a quick neighborhood walk in the rain so that I may present this poem to you without a 30 lbs human perched atop my head, shrieking. Here it is: White America Does Not Want to See a Zombie Apocalypse.

My Daughter is Going to Change Everything

My daughter is going to change everything.

Everyday, I read this "To Everything There is a Season" book to her. At her request. It's literally just the scriptures in Ecclesiastes, verbatim -- A time to be born, a time to die... A time to plant, a time to pluck up that which has been planted... A time to mourn, a time to dance... A time to keep silence and a time to speak... Etc. Nothing really mind blowing, no new information. However, this is her favorite book and she's always transfixed.

The illustrations are, for me, what make it great [and allow me to be able to read the same book over and over again, several times a day, without losing my entire mind]. It features art from various time periods, cultures, and countries for each passage. So, for instance, there's a depiction of Egyptian murals done in acrylic paint on three-ply Bristol board, or ink and watercolor on paper depicting Japanese woodblock prints. There's the art of Mexico, Greece, Ethiopia, India, Thailand -- it goes on and on and it's phenomenal. I feel like I'm walking through a museum when I read it. And I love museums.

Anyway, the second to last bit of the book says, "a time of war and a time of peace." The other day, we stopped for a long time on that page and I pointed to everything that was happening on the "war" side and everything that was happening on the "peace side" and I said, "war is bad. Look, they're hurting each other and killing each other. That's not the way it should be. Peace is good. Peace is what we want. See, this is how we should live."

This morning, I read this book to her, perhaps for the thousandth time. When I got to the war and peace page, she sat and stared for a long time. I followed her eyes as she took in every detail, particularly of the "peace" side. The animals, the people, the blue sky, the flowers and trees. She looked and looked and looked. I could see her, thinking. A 14-month-old. In deep concentration. About peace. Then she looked at the "war" side, and though she did take a moment with it, she gave it considerably less attention than "peace".

Then she turned to the final page, which is a big picture of planet Earth with the words, "One generation passes away and another generation comes: but the earth abides forever," underneath. She admired it for a long time. Then she flipped back to the previous page. More attention to "peace". I sat there, observing, careful not to interfere, allowing her to be in the moment. Seriously, this went on for a long time.

Then, finally, she started "reading aloud". My daughter babbled to herself, pointing at and focusing on different details in the "peace" picture. She read, and read, and pontificated, and theorized, and perhaps even prayed. In that moment, I was clear: The greatest honor and blessing that I will ever have is to be her mother. God is with this child. Her ancestors are with her. She gets it all. She understands. She has a purpose. She's here to change everything.

May we all live to see it.

I'm a Part of This Year's Highway's Poetry Festival

It's my first feature since freedom [insert scarily excited face here]. I promise to do new poems. Plus the fact that I'm performing on the same stage as other artists that I have an immense amount of love and respect for is going to make me put on my good clothes.

The Highways Poetry Festival is a yearly event that consists of 2 nights of dynamic poetry and music. This year, there's a team poetry slam on Friday, 6/13 at 8 pm, hosted by birthday girl and slam monster, Simply Kat. If you want to have a poem of your own workshopped, or get some performance critiques and pointers, come early (5:30 pm, to be exact) on Saturday 6/14 and Chas Jackson and I will give you a sexy literary makeover. After that, we will perform the poems that make the whole world sing. Word to your mom.

In closing: Come enjoy some incredible art in an awesome performance space. You deserve it.

6/13 8PM
BATTLE FOR LA (TEAM SLAM)
Hosted by Simply Kat
$8

6/14 5:30 PM
THE COMPLIMENT SANDWICH WRITING/PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP

6/14 8 PM
POETRY SHOWCASE
Hosted by Judy Holiday
$8

Highways Performance Space
1651 18th St.
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Hey, How Ya'll Doin'?

Soooooo... I had a baby. How ya'll been doin'? What ya'll been up to? You've been in my thoughts. I've been meaning to reach out. It's just that... Well... did I mention that I had a baby? A whole, entire person came out of my body. In real life. That's not science fiction! And yo, that shit was cray. Eight months later, and it's STILL cray. I wake up everyday, look at her and say, "You're real. You really happened. I didn't imagine you. You came out of my body. I'm somebody's mama." I really say those things aloud. So far, she hasn't responded because, she's only 8 months old and doesn't yet have the ability to speak well.

Mother's Day 2014, Getty Museum

So, yeah. That's what I've been doing. Having one sided conversations with an infant. I haven't written a poem in who knows how long. And I haven't memorized a poem in longer than that. I'm doing good to get a shower and eat everyday. It's getting better, though. I'm getting the hang of being somebody's mama and so, as the weeks go on, eating and bathing are more regular to me.

Because of that, I had a crazy idea. You wanna hear it? Come closer. Okay, so I was thinking that I'll dust the cobwebs off of this blog. I know, right!?! Insane. But, true insanity is having a person come out of your body and I figure that if I can pull that off, I can pretty much do any ol' thing. But don't worry. I won't fill this blog up with talk of poopy diapers and wonder weeks and convertible car seats. You want to know why? Because I'm starting a mama blog for that. No, this is gonna be my haven for adult things like the reappearance of crazy fools, turned stalkers and Solange Knowles' ass beating skills. So, keep coming back! It works if you work it.

20 Minute Chicken Rice and Veggie Soup

The fact that I haven't blogged since October is just... Look, let's not talk about that. I've been off somewhere getting married, so I need for ya'll to give me a pass. Okay? Okay.

So, now that the man formerly known as my fiance, formerly formerly known as my boyfriend, formerly formerly formerly known as a stranger with a guitar, has wifed me up, he expects to eat everyday. And supposedly, I'm expected to do at least some of the cooking. He's got a lot of nerve, but I love him, so I've been trying to see what I can do. And since it's been bone shattering cold here in Los Angeles, I got it in my head to make soup. SOUP! It's brilliant. You just throw stuff in a pot with broth and seasonings and eat for days and days. It hardly requires any effort, but the person consuming the soup feels nourished, nurtured, fortified, and cared for.

I decided I'm going to make a soup a week. The interner-webs are overrun with soup recipes, so this will not be hard. When I announced on Facebook that "A Soup a Week" was going down, a friend of mine requested pictures. I can do you one better and give you a whole blog. Boom.

So here's the first one. I've named it "My 20 Minute Chicken Rice and Veggie Soup", since it should only take about 20 minutes (maybe 30, at the most) to make because everything is pre-prepped. Here's what I used.

• 1 cup of rice
• 1 bag of frozen carrots
• 1 bag of frozen corn
• 1 bag of frozen green beans
• 1 pre cooked supermarket rotisserie chicken in a bag
• 4 8oz cups of chicken broth
• 2 cups of distilled water
• 4 tablespoons of crushed garlic
• salt, pepper, onion powder (I forgot to buy an onion)

The magic of soup is that you can sort of just throw whatever you have around into the pot. You may choose to use fresh veggies, but I didn't want to have to chop and prep them. Also, I rarely buy fresh produce anyway, because I always want to flip a table when my investment starts to go bad before I get to eat it all. I don't know about you, but as for me and my household, we don't have money for that sort of foolishness. So, frozen veggies it is. Throw them in the pot. My pre-cooked rotisserie chicken was $7 and was already seasoned and ready to go. You can easily pay more than that for a pack of chicken breasts that you're gonna have to clean, prep, and cook, so why not save yourself the effort and time? I pulled the meat off of the bones and threw it in the pot with the veggies, rice, broth, and water over a medium fire. I added my 4 tablespoons of crushed garlic and a random amount of sea salt, pepper, and onion powder. 

In about 20 minutes, we had a huge, steaming pot of "homemade" chicken soup. It was so good!