E. Zora Knight

My photo
a special order, straight queer and strong black.

2006-11-16

hushed silence

something i'm working on..... let me know what you think... this is the first draft, so be easy...

hushed silence
(for mary e. taylor)

mama never said
it was time to go.
she just went.
kissed caramel and mocha tinted cheeks;
pushed skeleton keys along with
dreams solemnly
deep into her pockets;
and forced our future
into the corner
of a worn out coin purse,
stuffed with bitterness and regret.
somewhere behind a faded two dollar bill,
a buffalo nickel and an indian head penny
the last hoped drop of our innocence resides.
or.
perhaps.
it spilled behind her,
tumbling down legs
onto the charred glass
which she used as a path.
feet seeking refuge,
freedom, redemption,
revenge, or death.
which ever came first.
i mean..
someone had to know.
who couldn't hear the
scream's muffled cries
she petrified, stilled
yet always
in motion.
restlessly moving.
agitating peace.
perpetually in motion.
perpetrating silence.
even when she spoke.
silence.
her pain suffocated words,
choked desire
and with murderous intent
destroyed all that was
silent.
silently she slipped,
tripped
somewhere between
insanity and deranged.
she slipped,
tripped through lights
not so fantastic.
most times they barely
luminated her way.
blindly relentlessly
silent.
silently she walked
glass bottom path
with each step
the weight of her pain
cracked and shattered
her life's surface..
superciliously superficial
she'd pray to fall
but, not to knees.
in silence.
adorned in white.
wanting to heal others
to escape.
mama can't heal self
or others.
can't heal self
through others.
and others
were never enough.
so she found solace
in burnt spent caps,
laced with honey,
mimicking heaven,
seeking calm between nods .
sticky sweet.
and silent.
silently emotions
weighed and weighted her.
gingerly she kissed dampened whispers
from quiet streaked
caramel and mocha tinted cheeks.
her last thoughts
rushing from sanity
believing she tucked them
safely into sweet slumber
for them to wake
and find they've
tucked her into cold darkness..
begrudgingly inheriting her fear
and leaving them to live
in silence.
because she never said
it was time to go.
she just went.


kdtaylor 2006
section 8 coffee publications
all rights reserved.....

6 comments:

CousinSarah said...

Kim,
Wow. I love reading new pieces from you. The expression of love and pain in the piece speaks between the words.

I love the faded 2$ and Indian penny stanza

This piece is really powerful.

Copasetic Soul said...

WOW...WOW...WOW...WOW. beautiful piece sis.

Angel said...

i'm sitting right here in exactly the same way as the tirle reads. the emotion and personal-ness of this piece...how can a person truly comment on that? because to comment on that would be to comment on that which is the very essence of you, who you are, how you got there, and what you have decided to do now that you're here...

Ebony Stewart said...

YOU! You are someone amazingly special in every word of this poem. "mama never said
it was time to go.
she just went." -sets the tone of this piece...and I felt every emotion that was given. Beautiful in form, beautifully written, beautiful in words and realism.

Thank you for sharing.

joey said...

and you wonder why i don't pick up my pen more often....

this was amazing, i could literally hear you read this piece and see your sweet face, lips pierced at pauses that are hard to get through....love you girl

Unknown said...

you've outdone yourself again kim..... the way you write is talent in it's most pure form.... i love reading your work and can't wait for you to put out your first book and cd.... : )