I think I just met the happiest person in the world! Why are you looking at me like you don’t believe me? He was in the park. By the benches we smoke at, over by the gazebo. You know where I’m talking about. He was laying down on the bench just staring at the sky. I was sitting on the bench adjacent from him and I just watched him. Not to be creepy or anything, I was doing my own thing of course but, I found him to be the center of my attention.
He was laying with his back flat on the bench breathing in sync with the weight of the world. His breath inhaled the wind and blew out freedom. He seemed so at peace with his surroundings. Every 10 minutes he sat up straight to take sips of the beer he held in his left hand. His grip tight but not aggressive, careful enough to where it didn’t spill. It was the perfect balance. He had the perfect balance.
When he was done, he hopped up, trashed his can and walked over to a bike with a colorful speaker behind the seat. “Feels Good” by Tony! Toni! Toné! blasted through the colorful waves of the speaker as the mystical man peddled away.
In utter amazement, I hit my Jay. Im telling you if I could have pure happiness, I’d have it his way.
You make me sweat Your glare through my window in the morning is intimidating Can I take the heat? Will you be too much today?
Most days I can’t bare But somedays when my confidence dares I’ll go out Look you in the eye And smile
Because you warm me up Dance on my glistening skin Your light makes me tired After hours basking in
When the darkness of the night brews I wait patiently for you to wake
The inconsistency of the moon…
It wants to be a crescent today
Urgently come back soon
The stars confused of their array
When you shine Nothing else beyond you exists You radiate to everything around you You’re my favorite hottest risk.
Lose power Get smaller A thought completely erased No respect Hate the game Man, I wish I never played
A word on a page A law falsely made Hope for the future Don’t trust the innocent name
A book of rights That needs to be rewritten By people of color… Cultures of time… livers of “umm… real life.”
A book of rights That needs to be rewritten And maybe this time No woman’s tongue will be bitten Harder than our sins That we still wait to be forgiven For- bidden fruit on the curb adjacent to the neighbors youngest girl Probably shot Guns cocked Drew by a red dot Pinpointed by her skin One second, she forgot She was black Or woman Or in the working class Or human.
So the little old book that poison the minds of the people who govern the States is decaying. It’s rotten. Soiled in too many ways to try to salvage And save what? The beaten and buried bodies of our brothers they left bleeding in the street? They took claim of the woman’s uterus faster than mind and body could prepare to meet.
Those books of rights That they no longer feel the need to recite is no longer decaying. It’s dead. Like all of the hashtags replaying in my head.
Demi and Lawrence stand facing the open drawer in the kitchen. There is a beat.
D: The knife belongs to me.
L grabs the knife out of the drawer and moves it beside the pile of dishes on the island counter. There is awkward silence.
L puts his hand on the measuring cups.
D: My grandmother gave me those. She used to bake us brownies and I’d lick the mix from the bowl. My sister would lick the biggest cup and the spoon.
L moves the measuring cups from the drawer over to the pile of dishes. L turns to look at D.
L: (softly) Do we have to do this with everything? You can have this whole drawer.
D: I want everything that belongs to me. And I don’t want to accidentally end up with things that are yours because— well they’re yours and I want you to have them.
L: I don’t want any of this stuff! You can have all of it. Every single last thing in this kitchen you can have. You know what I want.
D: I’m keeping the blender.
L: I WANT YOU! Demi, I want you. I’m sorry, I know I messed up but this is—
D: We all want a lot don’t we?
D storms out of the kitchen in disappointment.
Lori is sitting in the chair watching her mother sleep in the sterile white hospital room. The bedside nurse is checking fluids. It’s been over 20 years since Lori’s seen her mother.
M: “FANGSSSS!” Mother rests her head back on the pillow.
L: Did she just say ‘fangs’? N: laughs L: Fangs? What is she saying about fangs? N: You haven’t heard the story of the bat that got struck by a truck? L: She told me many stories but never that one. N: I’ve heard it faintly from her sleep talking. She falls into a deep sleep fast and starts mumbling words around dawn hours. Fatigue and sundowning is expected at her age. L: Wow, I didn’t know… So when she wakes up does she know what she’s said? N: Usually not. L: So her memory is gone? N: No it’s still here, she just rarely wakes up. These days she sleeps through most of the week. L: Oh… I see.
(Beat)
M: “TANT— TANTALIZING!” Mother rests her head back on the pillow.
L: Tantalizing? N: That’s one of the words in the story. L looks confused. N: The order is Fangs, tantalizing, hide, boom, truck. Sometimes there’s words in between but that’s the bulk of the story. L: How often does she— N: She has a couple different phrases she repeats but this bat story is the most coherent one. L: I don’t think it’s about a bat. My second cousin’s nickname is Fangs. I don’t understand what she’s trying to say. Tantalize, hide? Truck? N: Something big must have happened, she dreams of this memory at least every other time I’m here checking on her. Which is Monday though Thursdays. L: Thank you for telling me. I might look into it—I’ll probably look into it. That means I have to dig through history. And I don’t even know who’s to start with.
M: “YOURS!” Mother rests her head back on the pillow.
J: What changed your mind? A: Do you really want to waste time? J: Every time I suggest doing something remotely fun you suddenly get busy. A: Well the last time you were here I actually had to pick up my cousin from the airport. J: Okay, but you always— A: And that other time Harmony actually had a stomach bug. I was holding her hair back all night. J: It’s not that I don’t believe you, I’m just surprised is all. A: Whatever, what do I do? J: Find a spot. A: Any spot? This is too much pressure. J: Girl, if you don’t just pick a corner.
A bird hops along the branches on the tree.
A: Did you hear that? J: Hear what? A: I think someone’s coming.
A rushes to gather the bags.
J: Hey, hey. No one comes over here. You’re paranoid. A: I just thought I heard… and I can’t get caught tagging. I can’t have something like that on my record. I’m trying to— I just can’t— J: Take a deep breath. Relax, okay.
A sits on the edge of the curb and does a few staggered breaths. J pulls his cans out of the bag.
J: Did you find a spot yet? A: Yeah I think I want that area to the right, above the 8 thing. J: 8 thing? You mean the glasses? A: Glasses? It looks like a sideways 8. You think they’d be mad if I covered up this blue part? It won’t take away from the rest of the look, you know. I honestly think it will look better red. J: Considering I’m the artist, I think they’d be pissed.
Silence.
A: I- I’m sorry, I didn’t know you did that one. J: Yeah I actually did this whole half. I found this wall and just made it mine. That’s how I know no one comes back here. It’s abandoned. A: I’m sorry, I feel like this is all going wrong. I shouldn’t be here J: I watched you in Morelo’s class. You’re good. Really good. And I know you don’t usually do murals, but I think your vision would look amazing on a wall. A: A wall. Your wall.
J puts a can in A’s hand.
J: Once you get started, you’ll feel the rush. Just be yourself. Make art.
A turns on some music and gets comfortable. 45 minutes later, J and A stand across from the wall.
J: I love it. A: Me too. It really came out better than I imagined. J: Its something about the application of an idea that makes art so magical… A: It really is. J: The blues and whites make it look like mystical. A: Like a full moon… J: I’m glad you did this with me tonight. A: I don’t know what pushed me. J: Just blame it on the full moon.
J and A look up at a full moon in the sky.
You want to know the way to win my heart? The key to this untouchable safe Safe from grimy little fingers— Well yours aren’t grimy, I was just— Clearly I have some bottled up emotions. ANYWAYS How to win my heart? I’m not all the way sure I know that if you give me food It will instantly boost my mood And I’m talking about something tasty like some home made Mac and cheese that has just the right amount of elbow grease A plate that I’m silent for minutes at a time Because every last bite is simply sublime
Honestly, the biggest way to my heart is to make me loose track of time Where hours go by on end Illuminated by your presence Cherishing every moment I spend In your arms Unveiling your mind Staring deep into your eyes And feeling that you’ve opened me up to version of myself that I’ve… that I’ve never seen before.
I don’t know I feel like it got real personal right there. I also love an adventure. Something CRAZY! Something I’d never imagine doing something we can both experience together Take me on a journey reveal a surprise push me out of my comfort zone despite my comfortable lies Show me an abandoned railroad You found when you were 18 years old Take me to the new ice cream shop That was an old bank before the owner popped up Let my spirit roam free On an adventure with you beside me … that’d be fun.
Have you taken the test to see what your top love languages are? I feel like it’s essential to know about your self and any partner no matter the relationship. I can send you a link, it takes about 5 minutes. 8 minutes max if you’re honestly answering the questions. My top 2 are words of affirmation and physical touch. So I guess the key to my heart includes constant reassurance and a small hand hold. A little PDA to surprise me in the middle of our date.
That’s all I can think of right now in terms of ways to win my heart That was just a few ways for you— or anyone to well… start. I know I keep my heart guarded as love is very sacred to me But if you— or someone— gives me a chance, we’ll have fun, you just got to wait and see.
Alliteration A literal nation of Latter notions that Light the way For better potions
A lateral ocean That stretches through steep Stations of stolen land We owe them our God given devotion
A better plan that Places with no complacent purpose Can repopulate the impatient Part of our nation We won’t dessert them
We take notes and Take the tape of our tailored Vision and talent and Drop it into the ocean And top it off with a token
That speaks through speakers Who speed through the world Of cheaters and write with emotion I spilled daiquiri in the ocean…
“Hunt down the traitor, and bring them back to me alive,” Rose said.
She stood over the dead body with tears brewing in her eyes… I stood in silence. With one glance into her daring stare I could see the fear and anger inside her. With a promising nod, I grabbed my bow and hurried out the door to vengeance.
As I rode down the dirt road, through the courtyard, I could see Rose watching me through the palace window. Her stance was hopeless. I knew she was relying on me to bring the traitor back. The further into the woods we got, the more I thought about my responsibility.
I felt a thick lodge in my throat that I couldn’t shake. I swallowed and panted until I couldn’t take the pressure anymore. I pulled the reins, jumped off my horse and tied her up to a tree. I grounded myself on a log, took a deep breath and immediately burst into tears.
I couldn’t fathom what I’d done. Rose’s husband was lying dead at my feet. His blood dripping from the ends of my fingertips. It wouldn’t take long for Rose to realize it was me. That I was the traitor.
A silhouette of Rose watching me ride away from her window appeared in the distance. Trying to escape her haunting presence, I got on my horse and began riding east. I didn’t know where I was going, except that I needed to get far away from the palace.
I thought to myself “What if I brought back a random beggar and attest that I saw him enter through the back door? Could I really get away with murder? What if Rose knew it was me all along? Has she already ordered her guards to search for me? Will I find a “WANTED” sign with my name on it?”
Red spats of blood clouded my vision to navigate through the dark woods. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts race as I left the town of Pottenburg, never looking back.
