The Face of My Father

So my mom contacts me and ask for a favor. This piece is the result and is dedicated to those "senior" members of the Highland Ave. Church of Christ. Enjoy!

“The Face of my Father”

I saw the face of my father
Saw the faces of them all
Contemplating their grace
God’s blessing of age
In a time so many of my heroes
Have faded much too fast

I saw the faces of his friends
Brothers and sisters
Ageless grand oaks
Whose leaves of wisdom
I still seek shelter under
When the glare of this world
Seeks to blind me to fall

I saw all their faces
Not as they are
But as they were
A multihued multitude
Of the stories I part
As I tend my fields
Of adolescent abandonment
Realizing beyond
What I ever thought I would
The exquisite joy
Of age
And prayed
I’d be blessed to see the same…
©2010cchristopherbess

In Passing

Hanging his head low
Working hands undo
Silver Container of spirit
Because his spirit's lost
And this seems to be
The best way to pass time.

Swallowing hard
His apple makes a vicious move
Within his ravaged throat;
Sucks his teeth a little
Cocks his head to the right
And with one grim look
Encompasses me into his fable.

A silent minute
Or two
We go on with our game
I blink
He looks down
Weary eyes to my script
Unseen;
He rummages through
A collection of bags at his feet
Producing a small leather book
As my scribing ceases
And I look on in wonder
Further with question
As to why his hand's outstretched;
But with each page turned
The message clearer
Artist to artist
Recognition sublime...
©2010cchristopherbess

Unconscious Melody

Trust.
A little reason to lie
A little reason to hold me...

Clear.
If I could just clear my mind
If the world could just cease it's crimes
Then maybe we'd finally own we
Instead of waiting on god we don't see
On high.

Speaking of the subject
(Sigh)
Been a long time since I been high
Wait a minute,
On life;
And yes
I'm trying to get a laugh tonight
Because that's what gets me by
When I lose trust
And I need a little reason to lie
A simple moment just to hold me
And cry
Because how many times
Til it won't be alright
And there's no way to clear your mind
No way to face the time
No way to get that high
Being left with gettin' by
And all there is
Is memory
Of life...
©2010cchristopherbess

The Quick and the Dead

Every day I see the quick
And the dead.
Souls who get
It
Souls who don't.
I see them
And in my wanderings ponder
What about me?
Then some of them answer...

It starts with my thoughts
Each morning on the edge of awakening
As I grumble
Shifting into maturity
Or what I've been told that is;
Follows me out my door
As I turn again
Because in my rush to survive
I don't want to leave my dreams
Idling upon sheets
Useless.

It strains my shoulders
Into a curvature of the spine
My eyelids follow
Along the black rhythms
Of their quiet stares
Recognizing me
As one of the damned
Delicately dancing
Upon the razor of existence
Thankful for my calloused soul
Bare and strong
Being neither quick
Or dead
Going about life
In it's strange
Usual way...
©2010cchristopherbess

For What Could Have Been (A Kiss)

I recently spoke with an old flame after many years. I found myself out alone this evening with my thoughts and a jaunt down memory lane...

"For What Could Have Been (A Kiss)"

Champagne wishes and cranberry dreams
He reminisced
Harking back to that innocence
Long before the jade
When all it took
Was Denny's after the dance
After moments brief within their eyes

He missed them all
In his own sadistic way
Truthfully knowing
Now
As they did then
It never would've lasted
Couldn't have lasted
Though
Couldn't it have?

He reminisced
On little surprises
Tucked here and there
Trinkets to addorn
Possibly cover up truths
It takes a broken heart to learn;
Reminisced on kisses
In the hours late
That moved from shores
To back seats
And vinyl couches
That seemed to moan in unison
With the surrounding patrons;
Reminisced of smells
Welcomed
As arms held him tight
Returning each time
Despite a distance that grew
From miles to years.

He reminisced
And smiling knew
He loved them all
Loves
Them all
Despite end result
Of being left with
What could have been
A kiss for them all
That hangs silent
On the eternity of possibility
Now a long silent whisper
Drawn out
Hoping never to fade...
©2010cchristopherbess

3204 Fusion

Rustic souls
Ambling desire
Bred union devout
Imperfect chalices
From which the world drank
Spirits varied
Full and sweet
Bitter and pungent
Yet enticing
As bouquets
Sent olfactory glands
Into overtime
Attempting to understand
This composite
We
Becoming intoxicated
On the inebriation
Of a divine showcase
Meticulous veil
Subtly draped
Exposing the human forms
Who danced beneath
In their shadows
Attempting to become
One...
©2010cchristopherbess

All Over Me

Not sure what to write anymore
With my tears here on this floor
Not sure of what songs to sing
Unsure in my passion
Misplaced from my dreams

Not sure what to write anymore
With these stanzas becoming a bore
Not sure in my attempts to hide
Whether I'm drowning or I'm dry

It's tough to hear yourself in the night
over your conscience
Without a fight
It's tough to hear your screams of change
When even you begin to think
You want to stay
Placated
By what you've come to know
Accept
As normalcy

Not sure what to write anymore
When I look at them
And I don't recognize
Any semblance of myself
As this gift hexes me
Upon a knowledge
My actual gift was movement
Departure
In word
Dress
Look
Geography;
I feel the itch
Here
Now
Years later
In my solitude
And one too many drunken nights
To blur faces
I no longer want to recognize
Feel the itch
Which causes me to dig
Tearing at my flesh
To reach my inner self
Where maybe salvation lies

Not sure of what to write
Of what makes sense
Whether I'm hollow
Or dense
A pundit
Or flake

Where am I going with this?

Fate or mistake?
It's come full circle
Except my family's no where around
And the only sounds
Are chosen ones
As old man I am
Seeks to bar shrill reality
In the only way he knows how;
Truly
I must leave this place...
©2010cchristopherbess

Here

It make you feel
Here
Make you fly
Put you one step closer
To heaven...

It make you feel
Nature
Hear things
Whispers
From the blades and blooms;
Make you want to touch
Rub it through your fingers
Over and over
As it kisses you
There
Deep
In places forgotten
In places abused...

It make you feel
There
Then
Tomorrow
Infused with possibility;
Make you smile
As you think
Looking at them
With their mystery...

It make you
Feel
Make you hug yourself
When loneliness draws its shade
Across your soul;
It make you praise
Make you
Pray
Pay a little more attention
To you...
©2010cchristopherbess

Let's Work

Forget about foreplay
Forget about tease
Now It's all about
Checks and balance see
No time for the romance
No time for a breeze
It's all about passion
Between you and me.

I just want to lay you down
Don't want to hear you cry
I just want to give it strong
All through the night
Forget about candles
And never mind sheets
It's all about the animal
Within you and me.

Turn down those slow songs
Extinguish the lights
Never mind our struggles
Let go of your fight
Forget about tomorrow
Don't think on tonight
Release your inhibitions
Let's do this right.

No time for the foreplay
Throw away the tease
Stop it with the questions
Must I say please?
Give it like I give you
Get into this fantasy
Let's return to our nature
Re-engage with the beast;
Let's put in some overtime
Work a sweat up so nice
Forget about once
And never mind twice
Just do the deed
Work the plow
Plant the seed
Tend the fields
Of total ecstasy...

Tell me
Do you wanna work?
©2010cchristopherbess

Eternity

Pulled it out of me
Put it into me
Thought of we
For eternity
With kisses on my lips
Upon my love
Stars aligned
Heaven sent a dove;

Flood recedes
Troubles washed away
Shore revealed
Where we can love and lay
Underneath the stars
Wishes of we
For eternity
As touching me
Searching me
Wanting me
Opens me;

Enters me
Desire bleeds
Opening of vein
Makes me call the name
That created me
Connected we
In hopes of possibility
For eternity
Just like this moment come
Perfect as stars
I expand
Staring deep into the sun
Blinded still
With my senses overrun;
Whispering
Pleasing...

I guess I'll have to think about...

Staying.
©2010cchristopherbess

35,000 To Midnight

On the plane heading to FL... Going to another world, through another world.

"35,000 To Midnight"

It was black
Pure and central
Silent
As if waiting
For the creation of time;
It was beginning
End
Fear and possibility
Primal
Level
Yet
Somehow textured
As I could feel it's sway
Teasing
Enticing me to come
Dive within it's mystery.

It was black
Our beginning
Our finality
Except for the solitary light
Far off
That seemed as still as we were
In those moments
Waiting
For the creation of time
And the sins that followed
That now
Make the world move
A little too fast to enjoy...

In the darkness,
One's never quite sure.
©2010cchristopherbess

Skin

Told beneath me
Learned beneath me
Shown beneath the
Skin

Crayola
Mocha
Ebony
Label me
Boxing we
With closed eyes
I dare you to see
What lies beneath
The skin

They look to me
And give you privacy
Only Atlas could shoulder the world
And that was a punishment
See
Mythology
Of what it means
What is seen
Upon the sin
Skin

White
Yellow
Fair
Every term
A fallacy
A
Need to be
You
maybe even me
So
I guess
We'll never be free
Crossing lines
Outside our pictures
Complete;
From the moment
Out introduction to coloring begins
It's all about
Skin

Pink
Think
Brown
Down
Black
Always in the back
Last
Amongst the crazy and the cream
Dreams
And variations diffusing
To nightmares
As you've got to fit in
Your skin...
©2010cchristopherbess

Honor

Honoring your name
The spirit begs me to move;
Why am I so still?

©2010cchristopherbess

He

Fear subsides
Guilt subsides
Going with the flow
Spirit
I delve into his blue
His black
His unknown
Dance within his stare
As my fingers flow with ease
Through his hair
And my beliefs
That we could be one;
He is mystery
In the common place of my world
He is
Flow
In the stagnant I've become
Pushing and pulling me
As he strokes
Because he thinks I ignore;
He is subside
As I push aside
Those things forbidden
For chances
For my antiquated state
And simple answers
That never come
Despite the experience I gain
Over and under again
In my desire
To be loved...
©2010cchristopherbess

Gold On The Water

Sporadic
Gold on the water
Shimmers
Blinding
Yet my eyes can't escape
Thinking of home;
This is the closest I get
In this time of year
In this type of place
Return
Seems to entice
A little stronger than it might
In say
Autumn
Drowning me
In it's kaleidoscope of changing colors;
But nothing beats
Gold on the water
Shimmering
Dancing
Calling me
Home...
©2010cchristopherbess

Endgame

The world is not before us
To give us life and entrust
Secrets we'd only use to change it's face

There is no other
Our only mother
Whose womb is barren from the pain
So she fades away

In our final hour
Will we feel the shame?
Will we bow before the darkness and the flame?
With our final breath
Will we come to know the reign
Rules governing our universe
One in the same?

The only constant I fear
Yet we'll be remade
To live in memory
A billion light years away;
The world is not here for us
To spread our seed and mistrust
Evolution as an unfortunate mistake

In this final moment
Will we feel our shame?
As the flesh it burns
To simply fall away
As we kneel and pray to
A god that never came
The time for unity is now
Before the pain.
©2010cchristopherbess

Drowning

Imprisoned by limitations of the mind
Searching for escape
Breeding contempt
For fate's sake
I'm drowning.

Cradled in waves
Seeking to devour
Struggling underneath stars
Infinite as hours
How long can breath be held
If one has never inhaled...
Deeply?

Impossible

They look away into unknown eyes
Looking for answers to questions and lies
But they would deem them
Impossible
So they cry..

They wouldn't loose it
To make a way
Until they saw it
The only way
And so they deem it
Impossible
To stay...

Who would believe it
With all our crimes
Who would believe it
After all this time
If there's a heaven
Or a god in our skies
What more must we learn
For it to make things right?
But I would deem that
Impossible
So I cry.

They wanted freedom
They wanted time
But evolution denied;
They got the moon
They got the sun
They got undone
Just to try
To bathe in pleasure
To drink the joy
To understand the love
Between a girl and boy
Only to deem matters of the mind
An excuse to lie
So now we cry.

Who would believe it
With all the tears
Who would believe it
With all the fear
That it was needed
Just to get through the night
That it was wanted
This excuse to fight
And still maintain
There's a god up above
Whom in the end
Could still manage the will to love
But allows us pain
Because it deemed it
Impossible
To try...
©2010cchristopherbess

Public Display Of Affection

Ducking into shade
If only for a moment
To speak to the sun
I realize
The warmer it is
The more I write
My public display
As I swivel to find
Amongst the bare
And bloated bodies
A perfect one
Whose story I'd like
To bear beneath my pen.

Ducking into shade
If only for a moment
To sing with the breeze
A chorus of emerald
Joyously joining in on our song
Carrying snippets of conversation
From other arguments with the sun
I am overrun
By the boundless energy
Set upon it's rays
And answers that glare
Causing me to squint
Because I need time
We
Need time
To handle the truths...
©2010cchristopherbess

Ghetto Girls

Ghetto girls in my view
Yelling over life;
And the ladies squirm.
I guess men are responsible for them too...

Ghetto girls
Call each other bitch
Tell boys
Who think they want to be men
To suck their dicks;
And the ladies squirm.

Ghetto girls in my view
Look like women
Sound like men
Shriek like demons
But won't vanish with the wind
Because ghetto girls
Like ghetto boys
Who'd dream to be men
Thinking ghetto girls are ladies
And thus a cycle starts again...
©2010cchristopherbess

Inescapable You

You know what I love?
You.
There being
You.
No need to flaunt 'yo shit
Advertise your lumber
And how it'll hold up
(And then some)...

I love
You.
Inescapable
You
And that smile
Bordering on heaven and hell
Truth
And secrets you'll never tell
No matter how much amber
No matter how much jade
No matter how much I profess
Contest
That you were meant for me
Despite imperfections
And my belief
That I could never satiate
That which crawls within you
Keeping you there
Across from me
As I again stare and tease
Wanting nothing more...
©2010cchristopherbess

Smile

Because of your smile
My soul's able to soar
Above it's clouds
Into your sweet shine

Because of your smile
I'm unable to move
Unwilling to move
And I'll wait for you

To see you smile

Because of your smile
I'm a better man
Not so caught up in plans
Willing to understand
Willing to make
Sacrifice
Compromise

To hear your smile

In the way you touch me
Return
To see me
Reflect
These dreams I become

Because of your smile...
©2010cchristopherbess

Justin Case

Out of the blue he returned
Justin Case
My old friend
My sage.

We conversed
Reminiscing
On my younger self
Naive
And yet he was the same
Untouched by the wears of time
His message unchanged;
He was the friend
Who lurked in shadows
Hidden by their now inexplicable
Inability
Or refusal to share the knowledge
Of true existence.

He was the friend
Once known
I turned to
As I wrestled within
God's choices of destruction
Scattered about like mines
Hidden in the sands;
A true friend
Who spoke to me then
As he does now
Deep within
Allowing me meticulous passage
Through dangerous seas of choice
As I look to dock
The weary vessel of my soul...

The friend I will tell you now
To cherish
To hold
As you venture across enlightenment
Both precious and old...
©2010cchristopherbess

In The Belly

This piece is for Marlene and those wonderful souls who cared to praise. It was a beautiful yet sad reminder of just how lacking much of my spirit is... The Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways.

"In The Belly"

There was a spirit there
Infectious;
They sprang at the knee
Cackled in their voices
And praised
So much better than my memories
With a joy that seemed lacking
First upon our pews
Then upon our songs
On to my prayers
As the realities of faith
Dried as profusely and other-worldly
As Christ's blood must have flowed...

They sang
They laughed
And I wondered
Just how much happiness
Could exist upon a breeze
Float upon a wave
Elixir my parched soul
As it asked yet another question
In it's universe of depravity...
©2010cchristopherbess

The Wedding Poem

Waiting for a poem
In the afternoon light of spring
A bee
Curiously settled next to me
Cocked it's many eyes to the side
Seemingly asking
'Why are you here?'
I thought to myself a long while
The bee never moving
'I don't know.' I replied

We sat that way for some time longer
The evening sun casting it's saffron glow
When I turned to the bee
'Because it's beautiful' I said

Beautiful
Like now
Being here with you
On the cusp of the unknown
Warm and renewed in the setting glow
Of your smile that beams;
Beautiful
Like now
Being here with you
And the realization of this dream...
©2010cchristopherbess

Wake

You wake with your entire body
Hands that glide
Over the incompleteness of me
Legs that vice
Holding me till I feel you pulse
Till I feel you close
So close you're inside of me

You bond with me beyond everything
Including dreams
Over horizons of inadequacy
You subdue my screams
Each time you hold me within your arms
Till I feel you close
So close you're the air I breathe

Paint me a rainbow again with your smile
Colors stream
And after 'while
Beyond these bogs of compromise I'll escape
Within your eyes
As you wake
To kiss me close
So close you take me to your paradise...
©2010cchristopherbess

Vanishing Act

So I got on the computer this morning only to discover that an aunt of mine had tracked down her eldest brother whom no one has seen for almost 30yrs. I admire his effectiveness at avoiding such a massive family for so long and wonder if in my own way have I been trying to do the same with my own existence...


"Vanishing Act"

Maybe I should disappear
Move off into the crowd
Forget my name
Stare in mirrors
No longer seeing my face

I've always seen it happen
In my dreams and in my play
Blending into the murk
A 3d form depressed
By the ills of his society
Into a two-dimensional mesh
To lie flat against walls
Unnoticed
Forgotten

Maybe I should stop moving
Stand still
In time and space
Collecting the dust
Of the world's rabid movement
Till I am a stone figure once known
Now relegated to perform my duty
As marker between point A to B
Within myself
And the many rooms
I've built in which to store my troubles;
Disappear
Until I am no thing
No one
No where
Forgotten even by my own self...
©2010cchristopherbess

Conundrum

Why do I have a quadrilateral existence?
I'd rather have a spherical one.
It's far more dangerous
Bumping into sharp corners
Than sliding off some contoured obstacle...

Why do they try to fix me?
I'd rather be broken.
Things that are broken
Are intriguing
Because they don't work
The way we want them to;
Whereas things that work
Just go unnoticed
Until they break down...

I really want to get to the point
Where things aren't so linear;
Life in reverse would be far more interesting
Just ride any roller coaster backwards...

Why does my existence have to be so quadrilateral?
In a fate full of polygons
It's better to have more corners
For the ones that love you
To stand in...
©2010cchristopherbess

Linger

I don't want it to linger
I don't want it to bruise
But you point your finger
And in the end we both lose

I don't want you to sing me
Songs that confuse
About how you want me
As I am but with rules

I don't want it to linger
I just want it to end
Let's just get past the drama
Maybe we could be friends

I don't want it to linger
With my heart on the mend
But you touch me softly
And I'm back in your sin

I don't want it to linger
I don't want it to bruise
But love is forever
Even with all that we lose

I don't want it to linger
Without you I'll choose
I don't want you to bring me
Flowers that ruse
Songs sweet from your lips
That seek to abuse
In my fragile state of mind
Thinking you kind
I'm likely to fall
Though I'd lose it all...
©cchristopherbess

Every Thing

Joy
Love
Every thing
Air
Dreams
Never enough
Every thing
Heart
Soul
Supreme
Every thing
Lost
Found
Beyond my dreams
Every thing
Sunrise
Twilight
My night
My
Every thing
To me...
©2010cchristopherbess

Nothin'

Nobody's perfect, but the consistency at which entities attempt to demean and destroy the achievements of others must stop. If not, in the end, we will all have...

"Nothin"

They don't trust
They don't want nothin'
'Cept for me and we
With nothin'
Full of smiles
Always frontin'
Hate it when we give 'em
Nothin'

History made
We headin'
Nation that gave us nothin'
Made us hurt
Made us fight
Searchin'
Lookin' for a piece of that heaven;
Full of smiles
Always frontin'
Make me wanna stomp 'em

See it on every level
Massa forgotten
That devil
Still tryin' to rob
Embezzle
My community's achievements
Level
Then blame it on the ones
That settle;
Here 'em laugh
Know they frontin'
Won't be satisfied till we got
Nothin'

I could lift up my shoestrings
I could lift up all their dreams
I could get all them degrees
I could raise all my monies
Invent and save things
Precious to their fantasy
I could earn another ring
Trophies
I could sing in all the right keys
From the time I crawl
Till they bury me
They'll be huntin'
They'll be sweatin' me
Full of smiles
Always frontin'
Won't be satisfied
Till we got
Nothin'...
©2010cchristopherbess

Night Song #2

I don't care what you do
If you leave today
I don't care if your heart
Tells ya you should stay
Moving on without you
Seems a better way
Just know I'll love you
Until the end of days.

I remember a boy
Who asked for love
At first it was toys
Then it was an angel from above
And one day escape
But that just goes to say
Maybe dreams of his youth
Became regrets of his maturity.

I don't care what you do
If you leave today
I don't care if your heart
Tells ya you should stay
Moving on without you
Seems a better way
Just know I'll love you
Until the end of days.

He ran into you
Along the way
To finding his soul
The place he'd want to stay;
With the love that you made
I guess it goes to say
The dreams of his youth
Became regrets of his maturity.

In matters of the heart
One cannot play
In matters of my love
What can I say?
Angels aren't meant to be bound
To this world in any way
As the dreams of my youth
(Too many times)
Became regrets of my maturity.

I don't care what you do
If you leave today
I don't care if your heart
Tells ya you should stay
Moving on without you
Seems the better way
Just know I'll love you
Until the end of days.
©2010cchristopherbess

Against The Wall

This piece was specifically composed for my 1st turn as a poetry slam judge. When I was originally contacted about participating in the event, it was to be as a competitor, but the organization felt I would have a considerable advantage as a published author. Instead the judges role was offered and I was asked in a compromise of performing a few pieces in order to promote my book, to compose a piece with a specific theme of leather. Hmmmm, I wonder how THIS will go over? Enjoy!

"Against The Wall"

Beneath his sentry
He licked it
Split
It
Tapped it
Trapped it
Strut it
Against the wall
With hungry eyes
Wanting it
Lusting it

Between his Damascus
He spanked it
Wet
It
Lit it
Burned it
The smell of his Presidente
Lingering
Between the aromas
Of a saline musk
And a red-striped cod
Piece
Like me
Fell
Bowed
Around his waist
Vowed
As so many others
To get in line
To

Lick it
Stick it
Spit it
Piss it
Drink it
Swallow it
Shower it
Show it
Slap it
Tap it
Wrap it
Wear it
Dap it
Lube it
Love
It
Do it
Over
And over
And
O-ver...
©2010cchristopherbess

Salvia Officinalis

What Will your verse be
In the great cry that is life?
A ballad
As crisp as roses in bloom
Against a springtime melody?
Or a requiem
Like billowing gray thunderheads
Filled
With the sorrow
So often misplaced as your own?
What will be sung
As you are lowered or scattered?
Cerulean notes off rhythm
Sublime?
Or cherry compositions
Kind?
Ready to burst solutions
To the enigma of you
Beyond those who would know...

Think not of your tune
But your tone
For it's never the song memorized
But the cyclic harmony
That plays in the mind
Resounding verse upon verse
To make sweet the memory
Of the stanza lived
To make sweet the song
Of the verse that lives...
©2009clarencecbess

Mellow

Took you off my walls
Unpinned you
Stored you away
With other eyes
I can't forget
But had to move on from

That was years ago
And now you're here
Beneath my broom
Covered in time's sand
And the memories
I try to sweep away

I'll need to sit for moment
Stare at your face
In my mellow mood
With mellow songs
To fill this space
And go...

It was best.
©2010cchristopherbess

Liquid

Will you run to me
Will you come to me
With your liquid dreams
With your fantasies
That hold you close
Every time they run away
With your soul

Will you tell me things
That you never thought you'd say
Beyond liquid dreams
When your tongue slips away
And they really know
That It's so easy
To run away with your soul

Will let me be the one
Despite your history
To wipe your liquid fears
From the eyes of your misery
To hold you close
Every time they run away
With your soul

Would you run with me
Into possibility
Let me take your soul
Show you liquid dreams so bold

Will you lay with me
Let me write you songs
Of those
Liquid things that flow
When one knows
That it's so

Right

Flow me
Down with me
Liquid ecstasy
Come to me with your soul
And be as liquid

Free...
©2010cchristopherbess

Cry Haiti - LIVE!

Cry Haiti

Cry Haiti
Watch your tears fall
Stream down the cracks
Of nil resolve
As nations try
To circumvent
Abuse of your heart
And back door solutions
Hanging perilously
Upon lurid hinges of truth

Cry Haiti
After the stars have fled
And your tears are left to lift you
Swift and hard
Towards the reconstruction
That never came
Forced your children
To other shores
And left your blood
Awash in the struggle
Of mice who would be men
Tossing your survival about
Like children on a court
Unbalanced
All the big players on one side

Cry Haiti
Now
Again
As you did before
Upon freedom
And your desire to have it
Own it
Be it
A beacon of the possibilities
Of those without possibility
There
Here
Everywhere royal plums
Withered in the sun
Beneath the oppression

Cry Haiti
let your tears cleanse
Us
Them
Who would forget
And thus be doomed to repeat...

Cry...
©2010cchristopherbess

Nappy

There are a lot of nappy-headed brothers running around out there. Be careful...

"Nappy"

Wound so
Tight
Soft so
Touch
He was nappy
Ragged
This way and
That
Way that makes the girls
Want to grow up a little quicker
Past their bloomers
To their french-cuts
French nails
French kisses
Hershey style

He was nappy
So
Tight
So
Together
Fellas
Wanted to kick it
Lick it
Stick
It
That vibe
His swagger
Get involved
In whatever he was after
Whether it was
Uncut
Straight up
Down low
Just so

He looked nappy
But he was soft
To the touch
Sweet to the lips
Dark chocolate
90% cocoa
Bitter
Sweet that is;
Always out
For the boys and girls
Rotting teeth
Adding inches to the seams
Playing the field
Between wedding bells
And hoop dreams
Caught in the conundrum
Of privacy
French cuts
French kisses
And who should give these things...
©2010cchristopherbess

Between Us

I thought of you
Standing there
Staring at nothingness
And suddenly
Colors
Sounds
More vibrant became;
In that brief moment
I faintly understood
What it is to be
You...

I smiled
Because at that moment
Gates opened
Memories flooded
And I was warm
With the truth
Of having you in my life;
I thought
Briefly
Only to push the thought aside
At what it would be like
Not having you
There
Here
Now
Ever-watchful
In the mistake-laden existence
That is the sum of my life;
I am grateful
There are some things
God deems to bestow upon us constantly...

I went further
Deeper
With each new character
Ending
At what you must think of me
In all this time
After
All this
Time
As I am not the soul
You happened across
Only remnants
Of the sand
Spilled from the hourglass
That is fate...

And I smiled.
©cchristopherbess

Benches

Benches about me
Routinely passed
Of stone
Faded wood
Under trees
Peaceful
Next to roads
Littered
With the aftermaths of lives

Benches
On platforms
In hallways
Polished and abandoned
Under lights
Bright
Fading
With the afterthoughts of lives;
I'll sit
And stare
Laugh a little
Cry
Write about these benches
That come into my life
Our conversations
Histories
Under stars that shine
Bright
Dim
Natural and conceived
Like the afterthoughts of life
Abundant
Ever-present mysteries...

Where shall I sit first?
©2010cchristopherbess