battered, bruised
used, overlooked
forgotten
poor yet rich in
faith unprotected
sex object in
the eyes of
bad and dark spirits,
bad and dark souls
innocent, saved, redeemed
in time
tired of working
for worth with (already)
a worthy name
short of being tall
obese yet healthy
enough to
survive, surmount, embrace
being troubled in
mind do
like to communicate
with only the truthful,
with only the wise;
a teacher, loyal friend
perplexing lover poised
in damaged purity…
Image of,
reflection of enmity
that keeps apart
two souls drawing near
E.
two shades of color
warming the
beauty of your
presence
a ray of sun-
lit sand
an island
who holds its miseries…
at a distance here
or far away
waiting, patiently
for sound to break
silence hitting
a sea called
lonely ears.
A heart
dying for hope
to have again
the true desire
of equal treasures
in a mirror of
equal measures
weighing you
into me
as an image
of we.
Leah James is an emerging African-American writer of poetry who writes in combinations of English, French and Spanish. She is a Midwest native who writes with the flavor of Chicago, the syncopated smoothness of St. Louis and gravity of the deep south.
