Jump-kick played over and over,
the metallic grace of poised muscles
the loop continuing silently
in the shop window
Passersby stop look get closer
their hot breath fogging glass
their incessant pointing creating a scandal
those who dance quite willing
to jump too, moving hips, using fingernails
to scratch traces on fog lilting melodies
not heard but felt.
So it was that day
when music lifted the subway
crowd, going home to beds
cluttered with be-bop,
the tunes
slipping off bedspreads
shuffling rhythms through
paper sculptures made
for toothless gummed
babies.
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
This is a book of free verse poetry that addresses the seven main tests in life and offers some sensible solutions to passing those tests with minimal discomfort.