Go back to previous topic
Forum nameFreestyle Board Archives
Topic subjectfor red sea babies.
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=20&topic_id=1228
1228, for red sea babies.
Posted by paperdollpoet, Mon Dec-13-04 11:00 AM
can’t no one tell me differently
i know
life just wasn’t ready for you yet
i can tell your brilliance from staring at the
depth of your red
the brightness of your soul
your dead sea scrolls stained truths between blank knees
that have forgotten how to pray
i have forgotten how to pray
and which direction it should be shouted towards
but still i can see under my mumbled curses
& while swimming in your red sea of radiance
that you had to leave
i imagine that earth couldn't handle of that type of energy
you would fuck up gravity
alabama's red clay would be too jealous of you
and the stars would give up their place in fear
that they couldn't compare to you
and the sky would fall closer to the ground just to be next to you
baby
ain't nobody got to believe like i do
because i know

life wasn’t ready for you yet
& i wasn’t ready for you yet

my womb was too small of a world
this fluid in me not sweet enough for your tongue
my heartbeat not maginceift enough for you to dance to
my uterus too possessive and constricting
for you to enter thru
and i ain’t mad at you
because many times i’ve felt that same claustrophobic feeling
between these walls of womanhood crashing down against me
i know that fleeting moment when life and death pull up chairs at your tea party
one has the sugar and one has the spoon
i’ve been there, deciding on whether to stay or leave my mark scribbled on
steamy mirrors
i ain’t mad at you for leaving
sometimes leaving is the best thing to do

especially when
life wasn’t ready for you
& i wasn’t ready for you.

---



1229, *shrugs*
Posted by mindful, Mon Dec-13-04 01:13 PM
i am not too sure of what to make of... the focal point or meaning...

but i got emotionally involved reading these lines:

you would fuck up gravity
alabama's red clay would be too jealous of you
and the stars would give up their place in fear
that they couldn't compare to you
and the sky would fall closer to the ground just to be next to you
baby
ain't nobody got to believe like i do
because i know

life wasn’t ready for you yet
& i wasn’t ready for you yet

my womb was too small of a world
this fluid in me not sweet enough for your tongue
my heartbeat not maginceift enough for you to dance to
my uterus too possessive and constricting
for you to enter thru
and i ain’t mad at you
because many times i’ve felt that same claustrophobic feeling
between these walls of womanhood crashing down against me

and i love when i can "feel" what i'm reading. i love when i can sit titely in my seat and get all sad, like the world is coming down on me when reading something...

u do this very well... involve ur readers. very well... Peace~


==================
save your love
i'm coming
. ©New Edition

!





1230, its dedicated to miscarriages.
Posted by paperdollpoet, Mon Dec-13-04 02:51 PM
sometimes i forget that people won't always understand what i mean.

lost in translation...

---



1231, i kept trying 2 put you into the poem
Posted by mindful, Mon Dec-13-04 04:53 PM
woulda never figured miscarriages... thanks for that...


==================
save your love
i'm coming
. ©New Edition

!





1232, The one time I get it...
Posted by delrica, Sun Jan-23-05 05:11 AM
Figures the one time I get it...no one else does.

Lei, that was some powerful stuff. The red herring clue wise for me was:

"The world was not ready for you
I was not ready for you
My womb (and then my mind goes blank because I'm too lazy to hit the back button)"

That told me so much in those three lines.

FEEDBACK: There are some spelling mistakes and an extra word in one of the lines that could stand to be removed. I didn't think the last "and" needed to be there (but that's just my opinion). That piece is beyond powerful. I actually wanted to know if it would be ok for me to share this with my venue either tonight or next Sunday.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RIP Simmon Teffera (1983-1/15/2003), you are always with us.

"Before I became a member of this group, I thought a Haiku was just a villian on the "Samauri Jack" cartoon." © Nowachaoticthing

"This Chapbook Was Made With Pilfered Office Products" by Delrica Andrews - Now on Sale
($6 including S & H) ... just email me or hit the inbox w/ your info (I do accept paypal payments)

■ ■ ■ ■ ■
1233, but sometimes they do understand
Posted by Kinetic Koala, Mon Dec-13-04 04:13 PM
doll-- youre one of my fave poets on the board and this piece is just amazing. it's so bittersweet.... absolutly beautiful!
I am impressed indeed ;)


~~sig~~

Just keep thinking about it.


"Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?" -Alfred Lord Tennyson

"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others." -J.M. Braude


SCORPIO!!! "Everybody acting according to the season that they're born in..."
1234, RE: but sometimes they do understand
Posted by Intrepid Vixen, Mon Dec-13-04 05:23 PM
Sometimes understanding is in the everyday things that we don't say, but perhaps we think. Very lovely. Simply, expressive and raw emotions. Beautifully written!

~*~
It's only what you believe will happen and therefore do next that will bring
about a life change.
Addendum
Prayer of Jabez
1235, spelling
Posted by rgv, Tue Dec-14-04 05:27 AM
but i know u're not a spell checker
&
life wasn’t ready for you yet
& i wasn’t ready for you yet

my womb was too small of a world


i understood the first time around
i kept thinking about salt water tho..
toni cade bambara...she has a collection w/ a title
that's sumthing like that
i dunno why that jumped in my head
1236, *respectful nod*
Posted by Iconoclast, Tue Dec-14-04 11:22 AM
dig the feminine energy in your pieces...they seem almost always real personal and mad feminine...from a dudes perspective it's always kinda shocking seeing the emotions there. i thought the piece was about abortion till i read your post on the miscarriage thing. Nice!

***********************************************************


1237, good to see a piece of yours on the board.
Posted by Morehouse, Tue Dec-14-04 11:49 AM

you always give
something to think about,
over and over again.


***********************************


"At least embarrassment is not an imitation.
It's intimacy for beginners,
the orgasm no one cares to fake.
I almost admire it. I almost wrote despise." -Alice Fulton

"The future is a grey seagull
Tattling in its cat-voice of departure.
Age and terror, like nurses, attend her,
And a drowned man, complaining of the great cold,
Crawls up out of the sea."
-Sylvia Plath
1238, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by Revolt, Tue Dec-14-04 01:55 PM
i think mindful said it best...it's when the poet can evoke the deepest, darkest emotions buried within us, and we face them, and feel them, rejoice or cry within them...that's the truest gift given.

i felt these lines especially:

'i have forgotten how to pray
and which direction it should be shouted towards
but still i can see under my mumbled curses
& while swimming in your red sea of radiance
that you had to leave'

lei i could give you all the compliments in the world, and it still wouldnt be able to explain the awe i have, when i read your work...even in a piece like this, where your speaking for millions of women who go through this, and have no voice.
____________

Avi: *can't breathe* whooooooooooooooooooooooo!







I paint letters on

יא כִּי אָנֹכִי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת-הַמַּחֲשָׁבֹת, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי חֹשֵׁב עֲלֵיכֶם--נְאֻם-יְהוָה: מַחְשְׁבוֹת שָׁלוֹם וְלֹא לְרָעָה, לָתֵת לָכֶם אַחֲרִית וְתִקְוָה. יב וּקְרָאתֶם אֹתִי וַהֲלַכְתֶּם, וְהִתְפַּלַּלְתֶּם אֵלָי; וְשָׁמַעְתִּי, אֲלֵיכֶם. יג וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּם אֹתִי, וּמְצָאתֶם: כִּי תִדְרְשֻׁנִי, בְּכָל-לְבַבְכֶם.

Yermiyahu 29:11-13
1239, all too often
Posted by sparrow, Tue Dec-14-04 02:09 PM
ppl shrug off miscarriages
like: its a bad thing, but its not like u even knew the child -- as if being born were the only symptom of life
but when i get to thinking abt it, a death that occurs right inside your life space has got to be the most difficult thing in the world
1240, amazing
Posted by , Tue Dec-14-04 07:42 PM
i love this piece...

read and reread it. my favorite line:

my heartbeat not magnificent enough for you to dance to

i truly enjoy the subtlety with which you conveyed both the despair and the relief...& i wasn't ready for you yet.

thanks for the good read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~











1241, up nm
Posted by mindful, Sat Dec-18-04 07:38 AM



==================
save your love
i'm coming
. ©New Edition

!





1242, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by blak_yukon, Sat Dec-18-04 11:08 AM
some beautifully depressing stuff here,ma

blk



you will like vicversus...


You know, some of us are better than most of us in some things, but none of us are better than all of us in everything.(c) Trick Daddy
1243, wow
Posted by madawaka, Tue Dec-21-04 08:25 AM
oh my...you stepped into a page of my life and rewrote it beyond beauty. Still visual, your pictures of poetry are painted beautifully. Reading that was inspiring.

1244, the audio
Posted by paperdollpoet, Tue Dec-21-04 09:44 AM
beware, i tend to talk too close to the mircophone..

but here it is: →

---



1245, RE: the audio
Posted by soulchild, Tue Dec-21-04 06:42 PM
wow.
that was quite powerful to hear you say so.
thanks for posting the audio
plus, it was kinda wild, cause i'm pretty sure i could hear children in the background. which is rather poetic.




1246, RE: you already got my comment
Posted by Mystic_Elixir, Wed Dec-22-04 12:17 PM
but this should be upped anyway so.... here it is again *smile*

I really like the audio (the poem on its own legs is very good as well). Hearing a piece read gives an energy to it that often can be lost in translation when simply viewed. You get more of the authors intent as in, whether a piece is coming from an air of regret, or peace, or confusion etc.

I like your voice, but the beginning and middle sound a bit nasal/whiny (not in an ugly way, more so flirty...the sound I'd expect for a sex/romantic love poem) towards the end your voice picks up bass and that sound seems fitting for the topic.

Other than that, practice and polish make perfect, but this is a very good first recording, and I can't wait to hear more from you! And though I wasn't there to hear the competition, I think I'll have to agree with David, you were robbed, because you have a beautiful voice/vibe/art so you should have been first, not second place. Next time!

Peace sister girl, enjoy Mee-ah-mee. Hasta luego.

_________
to retain my illusion of sanity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plan to be , I will! need to learn to truly love our .

















_______closing remarks______

" To be nobody but yourself-- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else-- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and to never stop fighting.-- E.E. Cummings"

"There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as husband and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends" ---Homer, The Odyssey

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"--- E. Roosevelt

"Love is anterior to life
posterior to death
Initial of creation, and
the exponent of breath"--Emily Dickenson

Mystic: One who experiences mystical union, or direct communion with God or Ulitmate reality.

Elixir: A substance held capable of prolonging life indefinitely (also panacea) a sweetened, alcoholic, medicinal solution... I am


1247, *smiles* i love how the emotion seeps thru your lips
Posted by the perfect mistake, Wed Dec-22-04 06:39 PM
when u read, perform, share verbally your words. this is my "for amiia," and "i got issues."






=====================
all water has a
memory
it was.
©Toni Morrison

.

1248, i dont think
Posted by rgv, Sun Dec-26-04 11:54 AM
i cared for the delivery...it was like not what i remember of you....it was very slam-ish...like i didnt feel that was ur true voice...i KNOW u, and the way u read it just didnt grab me. i preferred reading it to listening to it honestly
1249, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by ToeJam, Tue Dec-21-04 01:30 PM
Hello.

I liked this.

T'was straight up, to me.

I took it literally.
1250, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by NoBle, Tue Dec-21-04 07:42 PM
WoW!

Beautiful,powerful
embracing, saddened
heartache, love all at the same time!
1251, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by Lucky187, Tue Dec-21-04 07:55 PM
I'm hesitant to respond, because this is a place I as a young man can't really comprehend..

but I think I caught some of the feeling and emotion.. and it made me want to cry (yeah I can admit it) but at the same to stare wistfully out at the stars outside and wonder..

I won't say no more, but respect.
1252, ^up cause i like this^
Posted by Kinetic Koala, Sat Dec-25-04 07:15 PM
~~sig~~

Just keep thinking about it.


"Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?" -Alfred Lord Tennyson

"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others." -J.M. Braude


SCORPIO!!! "Everybody acting according to the season that they're born in..."
1253, duly noted, n/m.
Posted by STIMULI, Sun Jan-02-05 03:19 PM
.
1254, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by Otto, Sun Jan-02-05 04:21 PM
because many times i’ve felt that same claustrophobic feeling
between these walls of womanhood crashing down against me
i know that fleeting moment when life and death pull up chairs at your tea party
one has the sugar and one has the spoon
i’ve been there, deciding on whether to stay or leave my mark scribbled on
steamy mirrors
i ain’t mad at you for leaving
sometimes leaving is the best thing to do

especially when
life wasn’t ready for you
& i wasn’t ready for you.



...i like it, but i dont think its appropriate for a baby's tongue to touch your uterus...or you know, whatever you said...that doesnt sit well in me for some reason...but i LOVE absolutely...LOVE the rest of the poem....
1255, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by Mystic_Elixir, Wed Jan-05-05 07:12 AM
This is the line you mean, no?

"this fluid in me not sweet enough for your tongue"

Yes, it sounds a bit... raw, but it seems that is what she was going for. It's very... graphic, but so is the situation so, though it did strike me a similar chord (the discomfort with the line), I can see how it makes the piece all the more vivid and haunting.






to retain my illusion of sanity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plan to be , I will! need to learn to truly love our .

















_______closing remarks______

" To be nobody but yourself-- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else-- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and to never stop fighting.-- E.E. Cummings"

"There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as husband and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends" ---Homer, The Odyssey

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"--- E. Roosevelt

"Love is anterior to life
posterior to death
Initial of creation, and
the exponent of breath"--Emily Dickenson

Mystic: One who experiences mystical union, or direct communion with God or Ulitmate reality.

Elixir: A substance held capable of prolonging life indefinitely (also panacea) a sweetened, alcoholic, medicinal solution... I am


1256, it was my mistake
Posted by paperdollpoet, Wed Jan-05-05 07:48 AM
the 'fluid' i spoke of was amniotic fluid & i wrote it based on an assumption that babies could possibly taste this fluid when they opened their mouths. i didn't do any actual resarch on whether this was even plausible, so therefore that is where my mistake lies..

i didn't think that was too disturbing...

---
→ →


1257, my comment
Posted by truth, Sat Jan-08-05 10:32 PM
i think this poem is beautiful. ive read it a few times & just realized i havent commented. so here it is, my comment! honestly though, i pplayed the audio and my mom thought it was me coming out the computer. i disagree with a few comments here (as is my god given right) i thought the audio was good, didnt strike me as unreal or too slamish and i wasnt offened by any of the imagery.i thought this piece was pretty straight forward and honest. & thats what i like about your writing.
___________________
it takes courage to be human. to live on this earth is a daily choice, a daily action, a daily commitment to being u. to loving & accepting who u are. it is a journey of timid steps & at times, full bounds. no one can corporate sponsor that commitment. no one can own your past or your secrets. no one can sell your shame or your glory.




1258, i thought...
Posted by blaXXX, Sun Jan-23-05 08:38 AM
that the Vulgarity in ways we imperfect humans have come to 'view' the uterus, is independent of it's true God-given purpose---especially regarding reproduction processes?
1259, i want a copy of your book...
Posted by Morehouse, Mon Jan-10-05 05:11 PM


:))))))



***********************************


"At least embarrassment is not an imitation.
It's intimacy for beginners,
the orgasm no one cares to fake.
I almost admire it. I almost wrote despise." -Alice Fulton

"The future is a grey seagull
Tattling in its cat-voice of departure.
Age and terror, like nurses, attend her,
And a drowned man, complaining of the great cold,
Crawls up out of the sea."
-Sylvia Plath

"I would like to be the air
that inhabits you for a moment
only. I would like to be that unnoticed
& that necessary." -Margaret Atwood

1260, me too
Posted by jolena, Tue Jan-11-05 01:55 PM

- --- --
"i write life like mistakes that smell of baby powder" - no reply needed
1261, saw this on ur site
Posted by LexM, Tue Jan-11-05 08:12 AM
i dig it...

my mom went thru many miscarriages...and i had to see my best friend thru one in the fall...

tough.

~~~~
"Terrorism is only the privatization of war. Terrorists are the free marketeers of war. They believe that the legitimate use of violence is not the sole prerogative of the state." ~Arundhati Roy

strivin for self-determination since 1978
1262, you know
Posted by jolena, Tue Jan-11-05 01:56 PM
youre one of my favorite artists on here.
and i mean..this...this was charged with emotion & truth.
it is a breath of fresh air. sad air. but fresh air.
i love this. i really do. :o)
- --- --
"i write life like mistakes that smell of baby powder" - no reply needed
1263, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by ArKay01, Tue Jan-11-05 02:03 PM
Intrepid, interesting, honest and graphic..you provoked allot in this piece, the replies clarify that..one word - classic. Thank you for sharing

- En-Vista



1264, damn you.
Posted by RatpackSlim, Wed Jan-12-05 12:19 AM
i was trying to stay in hiding for a while.

you are TOO good.

lot of things i liked about this. the stance taken is inspiring and quite kick-ass. fuckin' tough. "what do you mean, slimmy?"

"i imagine that earth couldn't handle of that type of energy
you would fuck up gravity
alabama's red clay would be too jealous of you
and the stars would give up their place in fear
that they couldn't compare to you
and the sky would fall closer to the ground just to be next to you
baby
ain't nobody got to believe like i do"
--you

it's powerful, says me.

and i may be a slam poet sometimes, and mayhaps it clouds my interpretation, but i LOVED your delivery on the audio as well.

i wanna have an emcee battle with you about clouds and lemonade.



1265, Ummmmm -- ARCHIVE?
Posted by PhotoSynthesis, Tue Jan-18-05 03:02 PM
B~Cuz!

1) Subject Matter
2) Content
3) Sentiments Contained Within
4) Wordplay -- Similes -- etc., etc.
5) Cuz I Likes! -- ;^)


Can I get an AMEN?
1266, RE: Ummmmm -- ARCHIVE?
Posted by ASIEM, Sun Jan-23-05 08:41 AM
aaaaayyymen AAmen and AMEN, PHOTO
ok so there are several points of interests in the replies...as to disturbing,good it should be and there IMHO is no need to feel as if a mistake was made cause for real a baby does taste, touch, feel, smell, hear everything as we do and for that matter the piece is perfect. the intent and content are sublime and if it is disturbing to someone look inside themself and ask what influence am i under that my interpretation could be anything less than admirable for a piece so sensativley written? how could someone think this was anything less than a form of liberation? what is disturbing I will not say giving the benefit of doubt to those disturbed. this is without doubt a work that a woman can only give the highest honor too which is what i felt delricha was saying when she asked to share it at a venue...imagine that poets doin other poets pieces what an honor...
paperdoll this piece is as fragile as your name depicts so know this it don't need editing even what may appear a mistake is in truth perfect cause mis-carraige is the subject NOW MARINATE ON THAT FOR A MOMENT CRITICS!!!


ASIEM
"Kuun fiyah Kuun" Quran
(Be and it is)
" A writer takes his pen to write the words again that all in love is fair" Stevie Wonder
checkout these sites
http://4luvofpoetry.com
www.poetology.com
1267, this...
Posted by blaXXX, Sun Jan-23-05 08:27 AM
>i know that fleeting moment when life and death pull up
>chairs at your tea party
>one has the sugar and one has the spoon
>i’ve been there, deciding on whether to stay or leave my
>mark scribbled on
>steamy mirrors
>i ain’t mad at you for leaving


...was omniscient---to the fullest...

1268, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by delrica, Thu Jan-27-05 09:35 AM
I'm leavin this up for another few days before I archive it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RIP Simmon Teffera (1983-1/15/2003), you are always with us.

"Before I became a member of this group, I thought a Haiku was just a villian on the "Samauri Jack" cartoon." © Nowachaoticthing

"This Chapbook Was Made With Pilfered Office Products" by Delrica Andrews - Now on Sale
($6 including S & H) ... just email me or hit the inbox w/ your info (I do accept paypal payments)

■ ■ ■ ■ ■
1269, RE: for red sea babies.
Posted by ASIEM, Thu Jan-27-05 09:59 AM
the power in that can be ?
anyway not making paperdollpoet aforum for that can of worms I'll say this piece reads so smoothly about a controversial subject that it lends itself to prolific


ASIEM
"Kuun fiyah Kuun" Quran
(Be and it is)
" A writer takes his pen to write the words again that all in love is fair" Stevie Wonder
checkout these sites
http://4luvofpoetry.com
www.poetology.com
1270, i had no idea...
Posted by paperdollpoet, Thu Jan-27-05 12:00 PM
...that this was still up & running.

but i am humbled beyond belief.

i wrote this as a "just in case" poem...because life is fickle like that. & i know sometimes you can't be blessed with good luck three times in a row...

who knew i would be right?

the words came before the tears and i got the chance to heal before my body could. so as i read it now, with different eyes and empty insides..it means so much more. but i also realize...this poem didn't even come close to capturing all the emotions that come with losing life inside of you.

thanks for getting it..

ps. ms. delrica, i missed that previous comment..but still the same, anytime you wanna share this with anyone..please do.


---
→ → →

1271, RE: i had no idea...
Posted by Nowachaoticthing, Thu Jan-27-05 12:10 PM
I'm terribly sorry to hear about your loss...

I know that the words your used to illustrate this event couldn't possibly equal the emotions involved, yet still, you are eloquent and heartfelt in your writing.

I hope you heal soon.
1272, i avoided reading this piece
Posted by 3rd i, Sat Jan-29-05 02:54 PM
because i assumed what it was about from the title and i was right...and i didn't want to read about the lost because i visualised fetuses in biohazard bags waiting at hopital incinarators (ex sp).

i've experienced this loss. and i didn't want to think about it. this piece touched me. caressed my scarred womb. and released an emotion.

thank you.






myspace: http://profiles.myspace.com/users/7641819

www.spitfirepoetrygroup.com
http://www.soularmada.net/okaysistas/

http://www.okayplayer.com/chat.htm

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/tishanachipp