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    Coming Home: Songs of Africa

    COMING HOME: SONGS OF AFRICA“Always, there is someone hungrier than the poorest in America.”“Some of us know how we came by our fortunes, and some of us don’t, but we wear it all the same. There is only one...

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    • What a raw and intense tribute to Africa!
      I’ve never been but you put into words and song a powerful truth.
      How do we aim to live with it. Just wow

      • Hi Adelphina, thanks for your visit. I wrote this during a time when my poems had more of an ‘edge’ to them. I wanted my poetry to be part of and reflect a culture of resistance, that was not agitprop but still drove straight to the heart of the reader. To tell the truth about the world but not preach at people. This poem began that journey. I liked this poem and so workshopped it with a writers group at the University of Iowa, and then I submitted it to some literary magazines, but none of them printed it. Oh well.

        Adelphina, thank you for your comment; it is truly appreciated.

    • This poem is powerful. Both a song of mourning and a call to remembrance. I love how the repetition and rhythm make “Africa” itself feel like a heartbeat pulsing through each stanza.

      The imagery is rich with longing and pride, and the movement from loss to reclamation is deeply moving. It feels like a spiritual homecoming through language itself.

    • What a beautiful comment, RomaJ. Thank you so much. You might be surpised, but a few of the people in the writers group (mentioned above to Adelphina) expressed similar feelings. But they also tore through it viciously. This is the final version.

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    Silent Conversations

    SILENT CONVERSATIONS   ever notice how silence fights for your attention fights to win over your emotions and declares with conviction vermillion is NOT the description of love   lately I have been noticing many things mostly how silences have grown longer and more frequent how silence has grabbed my tongue stopped its...

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    • These lines are incredible.
      Regards
      James

    • Hi Redzone
      I enjoyed how you put this.
      How silence can be heavy and hard to escape.
      Like it’s actively trying to sabotage you.
      Killer ending amigo!

      • For someone who suffers from depression, silent screams implode, leaving only a muted hollow, faraway look. Alive, but dead inside. This poem represents some of the things people have told me about their struggles with depression. And Adelphina, you are right, silence is “actively trying to sabotage you”. Thanks for your insightful comment.

    • I love it when a poet covers all the avenues of a subject. Excellent writing here, Redzone. Good song too.

    • Silence has been called golden. I once referred to it as prismatic. But you perfectly captured how it can be cold and have a pressurized weight that pulls one down. Many can relate this, I’m sure

      • And sometimes there is a silence that is so strong that even your screams remain silent, internalized and damaging. I have had many a discussion with friends who suffer from depression. This poem came out of those discussions. They want to talk, to express what is on their minds, what they are feeling, but cannot. That “weight” is unbearable. Thank you Willow for your visit and kind words. Both are muchly appreciated.

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    Light💕 and Profile picture of redzoneredzone are now friends

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    Matter, Motion, The Nature of Truth

    MATTER, MOTION, THE NATURE OF TRUTH In these early hours when the sun wears grey mist, the horizon opens sluggishly not wanting to give up the night. Appearing in its April shroud Mt. Veracity guards the inner bay and more distant vistas of the Obsidian Sea. In...

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    • “See the world as it really is, allowing us to change the world into a place we would want to live.” Eyes wide open. lovely

      • It’s ironic when you think about it Fia. Many want change, want to live in a different world, where people coming together to solve problems is the morality, but are unwilling to see the world and it’s me, me, me morality at its source, and so blame people, rather than a system that has created the way people are and act. It’s a daunting task, but it is possible to do.

        Thank you Fia for your comment and for visiting. Both are muchly appreciated.

    • Reading this, I feel both the vastness of the universe and the warmth of small human connections– the magic of matter and motion felt in shared moments and the world around us

      • Those moments are precious, aren’t they! We are social creatures and need and welcome those connections. I want to and work toward a world where these connections thrive and flourish. Think how beautiful this world would/could be and how cherished such connections would feel and delight!!

        Thank you RomaJ, the matter in motion that is me, welcomes your visit and your comment.

    • This is quite brilliant .. makes me feel very small indeed .. and which of course is absolutely true .. Write on brother .. Neville 😎⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐👍

      • Another ironic thought, when looked at from the vastness of the universe, we are small indeed. But when looked at from our home, Earth, what we do makes all the difference. It is up to us to decide whether what we do will make the world as a whole better or worse. Us small humans can disturb the Universe.

        I appreciate your comment Neville and want to thank you for it and of course for stopping by.

    • Everything is energy, everything is in motion, everything changes… nothing stays the same. as this might sounds scary, as this (exactly as you’ve written) holds the magic. to reach the point where what we all do is living the moment, is the ultimate power. I see You to be both, dreamy, imaginative and smart. I’m still caught in this phrase (April shroud), a phrase I wish to have written. Thank You 🤍

      • Light, I think we are magic. Our lives matter in ways we often underestimate. And that April shroud dissipates as we reach for the morning sun. Thank you for the wonderful comment and the “dreamy and imaginative”, but not so sure about the “smart”.
        And thank you for your visit, it is muchly appreciated.

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    Last Night

    LAST NIGHT I awoke in the middle of the night thinking you were there. I swear I heard your heart beat coming from your side of the bed; could feel your breath softly warm my face; could smell you, a womanly musk, floating crisply like a clear winter’s...

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    • This is a sweet red zone, and it gives a cozy vibe to it.

      • Dreams like this are “sweet”, Fia. They are “cozy” as well, but then there comes the hollowness when you awaken and realize it is just a dream, a memory of what once was. Thank you, Fia, for your comment.

    • Ah, we all have been there, and seek to write an adequate poem to capture the feelings that it causes. Your write does it very well, tenderly and a slight bit hauntingly. Wonderfully written.

    • A tender meditation on absence, where memory lingers in heartbeat, scent, and light. The poem makes longing almost tangible, delicate yet deeply felt.

    • RomaJ, your insights are spot on. Thank you.

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