N.C. Poem in Your Pocket—Anjail Rashida Ahmad
Anjail Rashida Ahmad is a professor of English and director of the creative writing program at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. She is the author of two collections of poems, necessary kindling (Louisiana State University Press, 2001) and the color of memory (Clear Vision Press, 1997). Her work has appeared in publications such as Ikon, Obsidian III, The Washington Square Review, The Missourian Weekend Magazine, Midlands, The Black Scholar, All that Jazz and The African American Review.
equinox
the sun tips the sky
an azure riff of jazz with a slight wisp
of clouds. a little lower,
bird’s voices volley through
the dense, fluorescent green, but
you hardly notice such splendor.
even now, the center
has shifted and what was ascended
light flows now from you.
everyone sees it, stammers a little
before speaking. you nod
a bit, surer in your step than the days before. spring
has brought her
elixir to your lips,
has sown your heart in the bodies
of everyone you pass. they nod also
bestowing upon you
the gift of their own
bright light.
—Anjail Rashida Ahmad
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Brilliant and beautiful as always!!
what delightful words, much like spring itself…cold grey skys pushed away.Spring inviting everyone to smile and speak to one another again as our steps slow enjoying warmth & color of the season. All you need is a colorful hat of purple, blue & green!!
Very lovely poem with so much color and joy.
I submit my own poem and hope you enjoy it.
Passion in the Chemistry
Dopamine,
Norepinephrine,
Phenylethylamine
Flood the brain
And passion is born.
Sertonin levels drop
And we are entranced
By the sound of a lover’s voice,
A smile rediscovered,
And a touch we can no longer live without.
Invisible scents assail our nostrils,
Pheremones proclaim love to our addled brains:
Nature’s chemical cocktail
So potent,
That men kill
And women die
For the momentary
Insanity inducing intoxication.
Rationality and respectability cannot
Defeat nature’s unrelenting message
To mate,
To ensure
Survival of the species.
Oh love,
You are true deception.
Eyes lock and pour out secrets from the soul.
And the flow of oxcytosin binds us
In intimacy.
Our human hearts
Deny cold quantification
Of hot passion,
Deny your deception.
We call it true love.
How we dream of love!
We dream of the greatest love!
And dreams are reality yet unborn.
Oh love,
Are you more than
A chemical release?
Are you truly the cool calm
Or the hot passion
In the soul?
Or are you true deception?