this poem was a birthday present for my 30th birthday

from the divine ms. devoya mayo

who am I

the direct projection of memories

folded together

lemon water

and pieces

of spring

pressed tightly between the pages of an old book

am I the crush of slip and slides

heat waves and the energy held

captive inside a new box of crayons

considering that

this tongue has always been venomous

was I the child or the mother

the body of the mind

ego or just an unmade bed

am I all that I give or all that I get

am I layers or simple

straight lines

am I the stroke/the caress/or the open eyed orgasm

am I the wine bottle

filled with declarations of love or a fragrant primal temple

am I 1972 all crisp and funky

a groove that aint been dug yet

a pimp strut down delancy street

or the jazz that

absorbes funk like a sponge

oky…..here it is……

READY?……….

I…….

am a love song on

A mixtape

The saturated

Soul found within

My clinched fist

The seduction of a shag

Carpet and a nickel

Bag of funk

I am the kinetic/boundless/fiery line

Between diego’s canvas

And frida’s karma

I am

Both lyrical

and drowning in song

I am sharp ya’ll

Sticky soft and sweet ya’ll

Cotton candy on a rainy day

The perfect blueprint

For pointless

Conversations on sensitivity

I am a cleanly scrubbed floor

Everything you don’t need

But can’t throw away

The tiny miracle of reassurance

A fast getaway in

A slow ass car

And all of this is just today

Because I’m a woman

And we are continuously making room for who we

Might be

Tomorrow

Happy birthday

love devoya

2002