Saturday, April 08, 2006

The Girl Got So Much Heart (2006)














(A Woman's Work By WAK)


The girl got so much heart
that there is no room for halfhearted love.

and that is what you love about her
and that is what you hate about her

cauze

You're not ready to handle it.
This--
heart
Yes, you.

May I recall in the words of a defiant halle berry
in february of 1992

I may not have hair weaved all down my back
but I've got a heart

that was the black woman's anthem.

we applauded because
we love
love hard
and lose often

and you ask why I'm so stingy

I've got so much heart
I don't have room for half hearted love

But the question is,
can you handle it?

You wince as if hit
with an elliptical
bit of history

Yes, gentlemen we have been boomeranged.

I am myth and fact
in a syncronized swim
beautiful isis-ish royal lineage
but still required to polish my own crown

you say you love me
but your love wears me down

you sit at the foot of my sick bed
but never offer me a cold glass of water

you see me walk five flights of stairs
and never offer to help

you say my name like it is silk
but treat my soul like polyester wash and wear

you watch me wait for my bus in the rain
never offer me a ride

you pull out the chair from under me
instead of for me

Thank God
I am able, through my maker
to do all things

can make strings into silk
and water into wine
and rain into rivers
and grits into groceries
and a chair for a table

set for us
and check
this
I will fix you a hot plate
of my own sweet confidence
before I take a bite

But I cannot create
in you the sense of inspiration
in the me of us
and trust
is sinking in quicksand passing

a hot pain
with no antipyretic in sight

I need you to understand
that i am not invincible
neither am I without defenses

I am a woman
and I have a unrepentant
heart
strong
and
weak

for you

and I expect you
to

handle this heart
like history

a dynamic, but
delicate heirloom
that has survived
in spite of
itself

I expect you to handle it
like your health
consistent in your care

I expect you to handle it
like the man
I know you are
when you
stop
trying to act like one

6 comments:

Desiré Hendricks said...

I really enjoyed this poem...sometimes a man has hard time being himself, rather than just acting the way he believes a man should.

ms mimi the mocha soulchild said...

Thanks. I kind of wondered about this poem, but decided to post it anyway hoping it would relay just that...

admin said...

mimi, honestly i must say you got something good going on. i stumbled on this by error, but i'm happy accidents happen. sometimes they are just vehicles to take us to our fates. your poem is a heart warmer.

ms mimi the mocha soulchild said...

Thank you, Bricklayer! Remember with God there are no accidents. Please hang around and enjoy yourself.

Anonymous said...

Getting to the Heart of the matter... That is what you have done. God looks at the content of our heart because that is our definition the root of our character . you have captured the heart of the matter and as usual in only your tailor made free form way, have eloquently gave breath and understanding to bridge between man and our womanhood...

ms mimi the mocha soulchild said...

Thank you. I always like to think of the line "Man looks at the outer person, but God looks at the heart." It reminds me that no matter what others see, God knows.