imprisoned, age seven

imprisoned, age seven



it is frozen

inside a sepia photograph. & i

am forever

its imprisoned child.

the dark brown child

grimacing inside, when the white

photographer demanded


"smile..." this is what

"happy" looked like

at seven. after

my father

brushed & greased my

defiant, black hair

into some semblance of


a part. tied a noose around my neck... &

fashioned from my squirming,

crying, wildness this

upright afro-

american child.


& so...

half-heartedly

slyly, then rebelliously, i

became "him"... this

little brown clown of

robotic assimilation.


posed, frozed in his

best sunday clothes, until

he did not look, or feel

or even smell like me.



"smile..." you little fool


this one's for

prosperity.






One.



 
© 2006 by L.M.Ross moaningmanblues

Rest in Peace, "Bessie May!"

"Marilyn Monroe was the sex goddess, Grace Kelly the ice queen, Audrey Hepburn the eternal gamine. Ms. Taylor was beauty incarnate." New York Times-Mel Gussow Screen Legend Elizabeth Taylor passed today, and I'm not feelin' too good myself. She was 79 years old, and she lived a life of great contrasts in happiness, fame, illness, sadness, triumph. Since early childhood she is remembered for her stunning dark beauty and violet eyes. Although physically blessed with otherworldly glamour, she also managed to seem very fragile and very much human. She went on to win two Oscars, marry 8 husbands, give birth to four children, and become the number one spokesperson for people with AIDS the world over. All in all, Dame Elizabeth Taylor was quite a broad!








When you happen to be beautiful in your youth, it's a whim, an accident of genetics. When you're truly beautiful in later years it has everything to do with the size of your spirit and the shape of your heart. Actress Elizabeth Taylor may well have been one of the most physically beautiful females ever created, and then... later, in her Third Act of Life, she earned that beauty by the physical and humane acts of BEING Elizabeth Taylor.

I've always admired that quality.


Rest in Peace, "Bessie May!"


One.

LMR

Inner Peace:

If you can smile like an imbecile, without a worry in your brain
If you can start the day with no nicotine or little caffeine,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring others with your troubles,
If you can eat plain food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

...Then You Are Probably The Family Dog!







Bet ya thought I was about to get all spiritual on your azzes, didn't you..?



One.