By
Renee Drummond-Brown
I Use to Be a Queen You Know
In my imaginings
I ‘wuz’ once a Queen
Sheba, Esther, ‘an’ ‘dat’ Ethiopian
had ‘nothin’ on me
Oils bathed my Negro skin
Braids, locs ‘an’ dreads
adorned my head
Precious stones
Oh’
To no end
“I am black,
but comely,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem.
As the tents of Kedar,
as the curtains of Solomon”
(Solomon 1:5 KJV)
Solomon
Solomon
O’
Solomon
Sung
Song of songs
From within
His soul
For all my ‘daze’ long
Don’t you know
I ‘wuz’ this queen
He be my King
Everyone knew my worth
Kings brought me
Gold, Frankincense and myrrh
At the snap of my command
Camels bowed
Elephants dropped
Panthers obeyed
People stopped
I ‘wuz’ fed
Hand and mouth
Poetic thoughts were read
Solomon
Solomon
O’
Solomon
Sung
Song of songs
From within
His soul
For all my ‘daze’ long
Don’t you know
I ‘wuz’ this queen
He be my King
Everyone knew my worth
Kings brought me
Gold, Frankincense and myrrh
Subordinates listened
‘An’
Obeyed what I said
Those who didn’t
‘Wuz’ fed
to ‘da’ lion’s den
Can a Queen that’s lost
be found?
I ‘wuz’ a Queen
you know
If only…
In my OWN head
Where You At?
I went to ‘da’ cemetery today
In hopes that you’d both appear
I smelled ‘da’ breeze
Saw ‘dem’ deer ‘eatin’ colored leaves
Watched branches fall from trees
Even heard ‘sum’ Birds
Sang
A song sung
From Song of Songs
But silence filled your air
I walked past headstones
‘An’
Saw others
Gone home
before
That I’d known
Paid my respect,
Shared a smile
(Tween us)
O’
‘dem’ cherished memories
Never to forget
If only
For a lil’ while
My car stood still
Under the ‘Son’
Wondering ‘bout’
‘Da’ next time
We’d make ‘dis’ run
‘An’
All I could do
‘Wuz’ question
Why?
Why??
Why…
family did you leave me all alone?
‘An’
Where you at?
I stood there
Not dressed in black
Imagining who’s next?
When would it be my turn?
‘Den’
I rewound our clocks back
Life ‘wuz’ never simple for us
Yeah…
We suffered attack
After attack
After attack
But our ‘THREE’ fold cord knotted through it all
Keeping us intact
Father…
Do you even hear that?
WHERE YOU AT?
In all of this…
Oh’
I get it
(Smile)
Wake me
When it’s ov’r
‘Jus’ a bad dream
I’m in
Hit or miss
‘Naw’
Can’t be this
‘Cause’
Loved one’s won’t miraculously appear
Within this so called dream
I’m in
‘Jus’ naughty nature’s here
Even ‘dem’ bugs on ‘da’ ground
Devote their time
Crawling all around about me
FATHER,
Help me cope
Within this reality
please
please
O’
pleeeease!!!
I’d cry out
But nobody could even understand me
Or
My worth
Except…
my loved ones covered in ‘dis’ cemetery dirt
Father God
I’m not even sure
You get it
I almost lost my mind
WHERE YOU AT
in all of this?
I witness your creation
The birds
These bees
Those bugs
The trees
These branches
Those deer ‘eatin’ leaves
That breeze
O’
‘Dem’ precious memories
‘An’
Even me too
Father
What do You want from me?
‘An’
What am I expected to do?
Shhhhh, ‘My’ child…
Why do you look for the living
amongst the dead?
LIKE ME
Your loved ones are NOT there
They’re here…
NOW
I COMMISSION YOU…
GO FORTH
SIN NO MORE
‘AN’ SERVE ME
THE REST OF YOUR DAYS INSTEAD
Renee Drummond Brown
I was born in North Carolina, at Camp Lejeune US Naval Hospital and am a graduate of Geneva College of Pennsylvania. My love for creative writing is undoubtedly displayed through my very unique style of poetry. My poetry is inspired by God and Dr. Maya Angelou. Because of them I pledge this: “Still I write, I write, and I’ll write!” “Renee’s Poems with Wings are Words in Flight” is flown across the seas by God’s raven. There are several Scriptures that I love; however, this one speaks volumes during this ‘season’: “And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.” (Genesis 8:7 KJV).
No Comments Yet!
You can be first to comment this post!