Fight for the passion that lies
Just beneath the skin,
Lend more than soft opinion to it.
Take the tiger by the tail;
Go until the mind grows quiet.
And in the end,
If all else fails,
You can spin us a yarn to keep us warm
Tonight.
There are clouds that must be studied,
Rights of passage past and present.
And should you change your mind,
(I’m sure there was a reason,
There’s always a good reason,)
It’s very seldom up or down
Left or right.
It’s your preference.
Yes, I insist.
Any answer would be nice,
But keep it simple or simply
Spin us a yarn to keep us warm
Tonight.
Start with fact or pick a work of fiction,
Or simply point to the sky,
“I had no choice!”
Is the mother of intention,
While, the core of the curse
Is that ever insistent, “why?”
Before you begin,
Put on your glasses
Pour over the facts
Then drink it all in,
Consider the truth and the lies.
If everything still seems ambiguous,
Inconclusive or otherwise illusive,
Spin us a yarn to keep us warm
Tonight.
And never doubt the heart, the maps,
The book of ancient legends,
As you chart your way across
This restless sea of strife,
The stars will guide you.
Consult the light.
Take your bearings,
Then take flight.
After you catch that second wind,
If all bodes well,
You can spin us a yarn to keep us warm
Tonight.
Don’t doubt the dance,
Or the steps that you’ve taken,
Everything leads to the heart.
Know that all acts
Have their consequence.
What you get
Is what you’ve given,
Right?
And so, I say,
Consider your options,
Take it all in,
Sort it all out.
If all else fails…
Spin us a yarn to keep us warm
Tonight.
I can see that this one took four years in the making! While I have no problem with getting down to the work of writing and ideas constantly pop into my head for yarns to spin, if I had to sit around the campfire and spin one every night, I probably would start repeating myself and telling the same stories over and over again.
Still Living on my Feet is the follow up to Tichaona Chinyelu’s first book, In the Whirlwind, which was rooted in a sense of hard-hitting revolutionary black love. However, in this sophomore effort, Tichaona brings the revolutionary essence from deep
A further collection of poems, many from years in the Middle East, but also the California San Francisco and Central Coast areas (Santa Cruz, Carmel, Big Sur, Berkeley, etc.).
Share
Print
Save
Follow
Ron