Rough, Raw, Righteous Tongue presses deep—not a kiss, but conquest,a moan muffled in the mouth,a gasp stolen before it can rise. Fingers probe my moistness—not gentle, but knowing,with relentless intent,mapping every slick secret. My wrists pinned overhead—you are gravity,I am undone.Each breath...

I love living a life in this inkpenning my words up to the brinkthe very edge of every pagecrafting poems salient and sage Burn my candle down to its wickwhile I pen within inks ever thickall across these thinnest of...

Many years spent passing the blame All that negativity burned a hole inside No matter how high it ends the same In an empty gutter of swallowed pride   Lessons never learned lead to demise How many times until fear takes hold? Blissful ignorance holds numb...

sadness dwells inside my sacrednessdeep beyond what people seemy soul connects to others differentlywe don't need to speakthe earth stretches and yawns with growing painspeople hurt I hurt with themMelancholy has gone silentand I with herdistress the faith shaken...

—A Griot’s Song for Gambia— I sing of this land where rivers speak—while The Gambia flows in her verse,as narrow as a whisper,yet wider than a mother’s hug. For its waters are never silent—humming with shouts of traders,drummers, poets, and dreamers,naming...