Tuesday, February 17, 2009

30 Line Orphan Song

Thirty Line Orphan Song
I’m not an orphan
 Though my folks are gone 
Left me with a softness
 In the center, 
Their lilt to a laugh 
 No orphan in that blood
 Still flowing through Veins 
mixing vintages Into a varietal of temperment 
Can’t or won't fake those
 Sometimes you will see them
 Without searching too hard
 A certain tilt of the head 
When lifting up a kid
 Or kneeling in the loose dirt
 Orphans don’t look Like my Mother 
When she explained
 How mistakes are not permanent
 Such a difference for me 
 Love doesn’t always last 
But the bond stays strong 
In these chromosomes 
Things handed down
 We hold like a fledgling
 I’m no orphan
 Not in this album
 Tattooed in my memory 
Cobalt indelible inside
Not an orphan, never

Friday, February 13, 2009

I'm not lonely

I'm Not Lonely

I'm not lonely sleeping all alone
you think i'm scared
but i'm a big girl
i don't cry or anything I have a great big bed to roll around in
and lots of space
and i don't dream bad dreams
like i used to have
that you were leaving me anymore Now that you're gone
i don't dream
and no matter what you think
i'm not lonely sleeping all alone

Written by Nikki Giovanni