The Princess at Eight

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Pigtails 

Eyebrows unruly and wide

A smile like God's light

A heart of easy compassion

Secrets in a quiet voice

Mystery in deep creative eyes

A child with a gift

Pinned to her by God.

Another poem to read: Gifts

Dinner at the Diner

Photo by freestocks(dot)org on Pexels

I'd see him once a year / this time of year / 

in my dreams / in my wishes / in my heart /

yesterday / you weren't here /

not in my mind /

not in my desires / 

not in the blinking of my tears /

it's the gathering / the turkey

the yams / the cornbread 

the champagne glasses clinking / 

the gossip / the glances I'm avoiding / 

the low lights/ the soft caroling music / 

in this neighborhood restaurant /

where everybody knows what they

know / the coupling

the feeling of emptiness /

as I stare at the train that wraps around the base 

of the Christmas tree / reminds me

of how long I waited at Grand Central Station /

to find out how much you loved me

Another poem to read: Still, No Christmas Lights

Gifts

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

the old wood smelling floor in the study

ribbon, tape, and wrapping paper

early morning lights the room

gifts wrapped in secrecy

with hands that decorate anticipating

the gift-giving season

gifts for my Loves

my four paw companion

my friends

and my 

only 

one

Another poem to read: Birthday Party

Ugly Sweater Party

Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels

apple cider toast / feel-good laughter 

Santa and reindeers / running

across ugly sweaters / gathered

inside with sweet and savory bites /

Christmas carols / drowned out

by the chatter of the snow swirling / in

windows /

everyone looks on /

grateful to be inside / 

where the fireplace glows / in

every face that you haven't seen / 

in a very long time

Another poem to read: The Princess at Eight

Christmas Kiss

Photo by Dejan Krstevski from Pexels

I watch every speckle of the snow

In the delight of what I feel

A testament of reality

Saturated in love

As snowflakes fall and join its bond

To form a winters wonderland

A season of heightened emotions

I'm passionately in love

I smell the pine of artificial room scent,

The cranberry juice at breakfast

An elegant dining experience

The crackling of the fireplace

My darling, it warms my heart,

The sweet remembrance of our love

I celebrate this time of year 

Floating on clouds, swimming in desire

Swallowed and salivating for your kiss

Under every mistletoe

Another poem to read: The Lady's Cat

Still, No Christmas Lights

Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels

Last Christmas

You were a gift to me

Now you're a memory

It weighs on my heart

I didn't know

No, I didn't know, baby

You wouldn't be here this year

Bickering

I couldn't get it right

The star on the tree 

It was never straight

Because of me

I can still hear your voice

Bossing me

Tell me what you want me to do

I'll do it tonight

Ow, tonight

I'll circle the tree

With the same red and gold garland

The same garland I complained about

Every year, cause I married a cheap man

Still no Christmas lights, baby

Cause you don't want the energy to be high

And with that precious thought

My eyes begin to cry

All I can think about is you and I

The Rough Draft

3 A.M. - Sketch by Casila

when love is void / there is 

a blank space / a vast plain to fill /

a ghostly emptiness / 

clear of intention

the cleanest slate / when love is truly

void / a blank canvas / 

not wanting to add the wrong hue /

selective /

careful / 

painting it respectfully /

with the true essence of love / 

beautiful / 

a blueprint /

read by the soul /

reminders / 

lessons learned /

of what to avoid

Gypsy - Sketch by Casila

Another poem to read: Starry Nights

The Lady's Cat

Photo by Buenosia Carol from Pexels

This world will offer you fear, instead of failure

Lust instead of Love

Sugar instead of the salt that you need

A temporary change, instead of a difference

Sleazy marketing schemes capturing your focus 

To everything that's non-essential 

Distributing your energy onto scattered desires

To one day only wish to see the leaves change

And the house cat that greets you

Another poem to read: Rose Quartz

Castle

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

I built a fortress around myself

White great brick walls

It swelled as it trembled to new heights

Growing at my request

I sat on a blanket of dense grass

With the Son hugging my back

Picking dandelions

Secured

Guarded

Delicately protected

Not offered to the world

To be restored 

With self-worth

Another poem to read: Hold My Hand, Dear Lord

Message in a Bottle

Photo by Nguyễn Thanh Ngọc from Pexels

Here comes the wave

The ocean shoving saying, ‘You don’t belong here’

‘Go back to shore’

You come here with your floating devices

Oxygen to dive

You know you don’t belong here

Still, you come with your food wrappers

Empty bottles to send messages

We’ll gladly send your garbage

Your lovely love letter

Back to shore!

Another poem to read: Rocks

Industry Chick

Photo by Cheyenne Shotton from Pexels

they were a couple / banking 

on her desires for him / to create 

a fandom / a choir of harps /

angels of encouragement / angles with admiration /

spreading his music across the globe /

his ego grew immensely /

accompanied by the woman 

who brewed this deception /

to exalt herself in arenas / because she

knew the other woman /

was his muse

Another poem to read: Treasure

Dream Catcher

Photo by Spencer Lind from Pexels

This is my only way out

I keep telling myself

If it drops in, I'm in

Out of the projects

Out of poverty

I need 30 points in stats

My grade point average

My coach will handle that

If it drops in, I'm in

Dream catcher

Another poem to read: Fields of Dreams

Untitled, Alliyah 2020

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

It may be a long time

Before there is justice for her

In my life, she's my Queen

A beautiful soul

I worry when her smile fades

So I gift her with a rose

I shower her with love

Today, I know

Many eyes have washed over her

Bathed in a generational mindset

In our home, she's my Queen

Together we pray

In His Kingdom

Another poem to read: Love

Thin Mints

Photo by freestocks(dot)org from Pexels

My husband was home

I smell bergamot, pepper, cardamom, saffron, and leather

He left a note on the kitchen island 

It read, "I ate the last thin mint cookie" so petty

I can't entertain him ruffling my feathers

Rolling my eyes headed to the wine cellar

What do I see next to 14 Hands, his empty glass

With exhausted hands, I carry it to the kitchen 

Turn on the faucet and in the sink, a teabag

Sometimes he can be so draining, am I surprised

Job Shaming

Photo by Mister Mister from Pexels

He job shamed her with his pickup line

Promised a better life, if she was interested

Like he was a savior or some god

Flashing hope on chunky gold jewelry

Like he bought freedom on his watch

Freedom to reside only in places of peace

To enjoy all the joys of life

Like his money bought total life fulfillment

Clearly, that man doesn't know

Salvation only comes from God

Some women may seek him

Like he is the savior they've been waiting for

Ready to take whatever they can take

Life, can someday take everything that he has

Salvation will never come from him 

He is not your savior!

Another poem to read: The Woman in Apt. 222

Fishermen

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh from Pexels

A fisherman and his net

Throws the fish back in the ocean

An experience that felt like death

The salt of life taken 

An entanglement for his amusement

To say, Ha! I got you

Now, back into the pool of hope

I never really wanted you

I never intended to keep you

I wanted to see if I could have you

It was all a game

A sport that fishermen play

You are the salt of life

Another poem to read: Mr. Dapper

The Obituary

Photo by Elijah O' Donnell from Pexels

He was a man that practiced peace and self-control

He didn't waste his time puzzling women in a net of lies

Knowing that he wasn't at any advantage

He believed Ecclesiastes seven

One-tenth of one percent could be said to be wise

But not one woman

So he thought, a mass were not qualified

To even be interviewed

So most men could be thought 

Just as capable as a woman

What a waste of time 

Catching many fish to later find

You are entangled in your own net

He wanted to prove himself to be a man

To master godly qualities

To be thought of as a man

With every failure, he allowed himself

To receive the grace, mercy, and direct teaching

From the Lord

Strengthening his relationship with God

Studying His Word

His mother's lover left him fatherless

He was a son of God

Another poem to read: Elevated

The Affair

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

He was on auto-pilot, busy

With a business affair, engaged

After work hours, pencil skirts

Slips and miss-slips, 

That often left her recounting 

Calendar days, from the business dinner

Meeting, that never exceeded past a minute late,

Never surpassed the afternoon valet rate,

Check balanced, with the alibi he told his wife.

Today's world catastrophe vacated offices,

Encouraging everyone to work from home,

Lingering around the ground floor,

Convinced it was too soon to head home,

Their rendezvous started sooner than ever before,

The trailing of the cars,  

No need to valet, okay to self-park,

A different air about the day, 

Leaving his phone in the glove compartment.

Untitled, Anna 2020

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

She doesn't want me anymore

How can she say we will remain friends

When I've valued her as being so much more

I can feel her severing ties 

She's completely running away

Her truth is in the smell of her new perfume

She's certainly overdressed for the occasion

Does she not feel the death of our marriage

She even did that thing with her hair

Glamorized, in this tragedy of my life

Divorcing amicably, nodding, agreeing 

Absorbed, pushing towards the end

I never envisioned this happening

Watching the rapid strokes of her pen

The tapping of it on the desk

Ready to sign again

Who is this woman!

Hold My Hand, Dear Lord

Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels

I look good today

My smile is brighter than the morning light

I've been meditating and praying, living the abundant life

Grateful for everything I have in my life

Woke up this morning in my new life

Slipped into my comfy two-piece loungewear set

Poured me a cup of coffee to sit at my desk

It's going to be a good day

Blessings and opportunities await

I am showered with grace

Ow, this man that I'm with

He's noticing the change

I can feel him breathing down my neck

He's looking for ways to distract me

So I ask, Do you need something, Honey?

I've been trying to show him another way of life

Something worth trying, for something to change

I haven't bothered him much, but he's more in my day

Observing and fixated with being in my space

So I ask, Do you need something, Honey?

I sit and listen to all his complaints

It's been fourteen years, and nothing has changed

I decided to stop waiting on his promises and payday

Stepped right into my abundant life, today

Changed my energy, my routine, formed new habits

Started thinking positively, became more discipline,

Started setting goals, stopped absorbing his negativity!

Ow, this man that I'm with is shaking in his bones

Still, he's unwilling to follow my MO

Still, he's unwilling to pick up the Bible

Still, he's unwilling to pray with me

Still, he's unwilling to meditate with me

Still, he's unwilling to start eating healthy

Still, he's unwilling to exercise and walk with me

Still, he's unwilling to save money

Still, he's unwilling to plan a trip out of country

This man's low self-esteem doesn't match my outfit

I told you, I look good today!

Do you need something, Honey?

Another poem to read:  Brand New

The Streetlights

Streetlight - Photo by Casila

I don't know anything about love

But I like this boy

All the girls like him too

They have a better chance of him liking them back

I have to be in the house

When the streetlights come on

The streetlights be ruining my life

I don't know what I would say to him

All I know is that I hope I don't stutter

My stuttering problem is worse when I'm in a rush

I swear them lights be coming on early

The streetlights be ruining my life

Hope

Photo by George Desipris from Pexels

I don't want to be like

the waves crashing, spitting up

high in-between the rocks,

carried by the direction of the wind,

never reaching the shore.

Another poem to read: An Adult's Cry

Boss Lady

Receipt - Photo by Casila

She brought me home,

Had to balance her checkbook first,

Before she could officially start company,

She plugged the figures into her spreadsheet,

Something wasn't figuring out,

She turned to her husband,

Chewed him out until he found the receipt, 

It proved that he wasn't back on drugs,

I just stood there feeling his embarrassment,

His shame, a blunt attack that proved he still wasn't trusted,

I was shocked by her rage, she erupted like a volcano,

I wasn't prepared to witness this version of a love story.

Another poem to read: 2nd Edition

The Accuser

Bible Page - Photo by Casila

Let me praise Him louder

While you plot your twisted schemes

I see you with open eyes now

I see you've been studying me

Your traps are meticulously planted 

And I say, look at this 

Would you just look at this

Look at this trap 

Wow, look at this one here

And look at that one there

The Accuser

Ready to kill, steal, and destroy

At any given moment

Ready to devour your heart 

Ready to destroy God's beautiful work of art

The Accuser hates it so much, 

The Accuser is furious!

The User

Ready to use all his recruits

The ones who willingly let him use them

Ready to ruin your everything, and your everything's everything

The Accuser hates to hear about His grace and mercy

Or anything about Him being sufficient 

The Accuser hates that you won't settle for his nothings!

The Accuser hates to hear me praise Him

The Accuser hates when I pick up my sword by saying His name

Jesus! 

I twist the sword by saying it again

Thank you, Jesus!

I see your traps

I see the recruits that you use

Some of them use to be a part of my tribe

You hunted and recruited my closest, to get inside

You really came with your best of bests

You really wanted to see me fallen

You really wanted to see me crawling

You wanted me slithering like you across the floor

You wanted me far removed from the Lord

I see you Satan

Thank you, Jesus!

Another poem to read: Battlefield

Brand New

Photo by Taryn Elliott from Pexels

Distant I've become,

Wondering around in my mind,

New sights, new flights,

Newness in my life,

Anew in your eyes. 

Another poem to read: The Woman

Haste is Waste

Buckingham Palace - Photo by Casila

haste is waste like fast food /
served by employees driven by fear /
fear of not being good enough / fearing
termination of a minimum wage / haste is waste
like undeveloped relationships / the hit and quit /
like a parked car placed in neutral / rolling back
down the driveway / like a lease signed quickly
to avoid homelessness / in a community
where there is no peace / like getting a loan
for school admission / without a well-thought-out
written plan / for an unplanned future you fear
you won't have

haste is waste like a cup of ramen noodles /
it expands in a cup to be eaten / and still
you feel like you haven't eaten enough /
haste is waste like quick decisions / pressured by time
that's not flying / it's ticking / slowly taking its time /
Time is King / never in a haste /
you're going to have to wait /
on His perfect timing /
you're going to have to wait /

for His divine timing / perfectly orchestrated /
you are going to have to wait now /
haste is waste

Another poem to read: The Calling

Mr. Dapper

Photo by The Lazy Artist Gallery from Pexels

look at what I wanted / look at what I desired /

someone who would never show me his truth /

In love with the mystery of a man / he was so charming 

and handsome / had a presence / he would never go unseen /

a dapper gentleman / smelled of amber / myrrh

and testosterone / I was enamored / I was strung along 

on a budding love’s high / blinded by expectations / 

envisioned a desirable vision of love / enjoyed the joyride

like a sightseeing lift passing by evergreen / the scenic route

filled with all my imaginings / gassed up what we really were /

eyes glossed over in total admiration / in denial /

obsessed with my fantasy / being in his company /

I romanticized his every action / valued them more 

than the effort and thought he put into them / appreciated 

every moment of him / given to me / slowly I was 

lowered down to reality / down to common sense /

it picked at my subconscious / taunted me 

with where we would eventually be / off the high 

and thrill  / when all becomes familiar 

and I am no longer the spark and newness in his life / 

rumored to be a ladies man / why didn’t I think 

he’d do me the same way?

Another poem to read: Horse and Carriage

Love

Nymph with a Scorpion - Photo by Casila

I am exposed / I’m clothed / why do I feel

like I’m wearing nothing / naked

to your eyes / you see my body and I

wonder if you can see my soul /

I feel your eyes / crawling all over me / I am

a canvas painted with your love all over me

 

I am living my fantasy / learning to love 

without conditions / we are shadows 

that frolic in the dark / touching

kissing / silhouettes wrapped 

around each other / minds that think alike /

But very different / the yin to my yang

You found happiness in me / a treasure 

of intimacy fit for a king / together 

we surprise each other / with our many layers

to discover in one another / a love full of 

passion and excitement / an unmapped journey /

self-discovery / adventure / newness / a true

appetite for life  

Another poem to read:  This Precious Moment

I Love You

Eiffel Tower, Paris - Photo by Casila

Isn’t it love that you need,
Money doesn’t keep real company,
It circulates the room, 
Filled to capacity, and still it feels lonely.

Isn’t it love that you need,
Media will fool you to believe,
You have a large family,
When you don’t even know their names,
When they pass you in the streets.

Dos

Rose - Photo by Casila

I’m not perfect / 
so I expect you to be / 
everything / 
that I am not / so we 
can be perfectly whole /
when we become /

one

Another poem to read: On Her Day

Time

Photo by Alicia Zinn from Pexels

Something, I didn’t want to read,

Avoidance,

It is news,

I did not want to see,

Avoidance,

Someone, I didn’t want to be,

Avoidance,

Still, it attaches itself to me,

Running harder and fast,

Fading, farther, deeper into an empty stare, 

Staring at my breathing air,

Tired soul, tired bones,

Aching chest, a fatigued zest for life,

This working life, not working out for me,

Time doesn’t stop,

Time holds no remorse of dragging you, 

Into its future, 

You can stop to gather yourself, 

But Time isn’t going to wait,

It is Time that knows all-knowing,

It is Time that is certain, 

Ticking even in the moments when all is still,

A single message can travel across the globe,

In every language, every time zone,

The Revelation,

Time is King.

Another poem to read: The Book on the Shelf

Horse and Carriage

Photo by Casila - Horse Carriage Ride, Chicago

Somebody shot her foot,
Tried to stop her from movin‘, 
Movin’ on up, ow look at her life,
She looks sweet like cherry pie,
Sweet like warm buns bronzed with body lava,
Stunning like a professional bouquet,
Bee’s swarmed to her honeysuckle, 
Pollinated lifestyle, spreading her dreams, 
Nights filled with stars and twinkling lights,
Somebody stumped her foot, 
Success, popularity, sexual admiration, the good life, 
Too much on the scene for one night, 

Somebody tried to stop her.

Another poem to read: Divorce

Red Bottoms

Photo by Chevanon Photography from Pexels

did she gloat across that table / when 

she called it an entanglement / is she 

proud now / was this her ha ha ha / 

deep belly laugh moment / was his 

constrained demeanor / that showed that he cared

her reward / was it blissful 

to finally kiss it back

did she explain what she needed / wanted to feel 

to rub it in / to make him feel incompetent /

does he despise her / even more now 

more / than the day he said he was done /

was this moment all the reassurance / he needed

the confirmation / he needed it 

when he requested her / when the universe 

sent him someone else /

first

Another poem to read: Cat

Sodalite

Photo by Casila - Work Space

My poet’s ring,
Reminds my days of the nights,
I created my life from a dream.

I hope the feelings don’t fade,
Like tan lines from a band,
Where vows weren’t kept,
And dreams were shattered,
After the blessings were given,
And the union was sealed,

From Heaven. 

Another poem to read:  Fields of Dreams