Tag: writing

30 DAYS OF JAYE: Say The Quiet Out Loud

~ Jennifer Bush-Harris

I want nights

That are quiet,

And still

Loud as thunder,

I want storms in

Oceans of sheets

And limbs pulling

Me further from

What I know into

All I want.

I want the quiet parts

Said out loud

And kisses made only

For me,

And all my inner light

Being bother magic

And woman lit

By you.

I want the now

and the present presence

Of what it means to be

Lost and still be found.

From sky above

And Earth beneath

I want to dream

Of setting future

Suns…

Again.

-JBHarris

30 DAYS OF JAYE: Deep, Still Waters

~ Jennifer Bush-Harris

There’s magic in the water

I’ll make you hunger and thirst for righteousness you have never sampled

for a goddess is who is brown as earth

and loud as thunder once you master crescendos who hides orchestras inside of her belly as you begin to be key in her lock

I will show you the world

with your eyes closed

and just how marvelous your world

can be once you find the right tempo

I can give you

what you’ve only dreamed of…

what you thought you could never have…

I can give you all you see…

I am night

I am power,

I am rhythm and blues,

I am hives of honey,

With all lips made from sugar.

There is no need

To give the unworthy

Or lazy such access to

Attention for my blessings…

Thick and rich as sunsets and moonlight.

No need to give samples

When ownership is what

Is called for…

because such power cannot be left unchecked

I am desire

I am more, and

I am comfort

I am storm.

I am all the ocean it washes

away the cares of the day

and yet I have chosen you.

-JBHarris, 1.3.2021

30 Days Of Jaye- Cliff Notes (Thoughts In A Pandemic)

~ Jennifer Bush-Harris

Click here to purchase this new work! If that doesn’t work, copy and paste this link:

Thoughts In A Pandemic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D3T2TYQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_5ZMFS78DC7K3EYKQH4JC

I am a healthcare worker, and like most writers, I still have a day job.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had planned on leaving healthcare and going into education—I had planned on finishing my MFA. But, due to the need to care for my children, and myself, I went back into healthcare.

With working in this pandemic for the better part of a year, this collection of poetry began as a coping mechanism. It started as a way to focus the fear of a collective community, and know speak to hope that no one really had in early 2020!

It is written from the vantage point of a healthcare worker; one who saw how disrespected the medical community has been (public health, science, virology, nurses, doctors, CNA’s, medical students, researchers, etc.), and how the narrative around this pandemic was skewed by—politics!

Writing helped me cope. Still helps me cope! This collection of poetry is a testimony to perseverance, duty and how the responsibility of leadership is heavier than can be first thought.

Thank you.

30 DAYS OF JAYE: Running & Saving

~ Jennifer Bush-Harris

Note: This poem is from the collection Thoughts In A Pandemic, available on Amazon.

Running and saving

This is all which can

Be done.

The saving of time

And lives and money

All as tears of frustration come

As sunrises do.

Running and saving,

This is all which can be done.

There are still those whom

Are alive, who from Reapers,

And light that call or reach—-

Always reaching, always needing

Not sure tomorrow is here or done.

Saving masks,

Reusing of what was disposable

Because those whom have never

Tasted fire, know to cover

Your face to keep tears at bay

From smoke.

We are all running and saving,

That is all which can be done.

-Jennifer Bush-Harris, March 2020

God & Lil Nas X-Part 2: Takeaways

~ Jennifer Bush-Harris

For my overview, click here for Part 1.

I write this part as a cis-het, Christian, woman whom is a mother, and hope hustler (minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ).

With that established, let’s get it!

1.) You cannot tell me that this young man is not hurt and isn’t lashing out. I have heard the hellfire sermons as it relates to homosexuality. They have never sat well with me. This is the only ‘sin’ there is no grace given to or for. The gospel of Christ is a hammer, yes—but it was never meant to massacre! Imagine being told as you live your life, the source of all things will turn His back on you. That is a nightmare! People forget that love draws, hate divides! Guess which was the last thing Christ told us to do? I’ll wait.

2.) This video was meant to be divisive. The vibe I got watching this video was to make people mad. He fully embraced this identity as a pariah. Completely and utterly outcast from society as Black, gay man—the video celebrates everything in his reality that will ostracize him elsewhere! He is celebrating the fact that “all gay people go to Hell” and pole dancing the whole way there! That is a boldness without equal. Then to simulate sex with Satan, only to murder him(!) and take He’ll over?! Like Crowley on SUPERNATURAL?! Fam!

I don’t think y’all get that: He. Just. Trolled. God. That is a different kind of hubris, I don’t have—or could ever want. His arms are too short for that smoke.

3.) There is an artistry to this video that is undeniable. It’s a pretty video! Very avant-garde! And the creativity that went into it is amazing.

4.) The ownership of your complete self is a process—and when done well? It is incredible!Since Lil Nas X came out, he has made it his mission to accept himself—regardless of who said what! With the state of the nation being what it is, he fact he has been able to do this, done this work to ricochet out into the world? You gotta admire that.

5.) It is a middle finger to heteronormativity. As the transactivist Diamond Stylz says, “It’s gay as fuck.” This video was a treat for the eye, with no video vixen in sight! His self-love, acceptance, with no need to compromise. Bruh.

6.) The video is a demonstrative of the cost to of living the life you want! This young man is a successful, openly, gay Black rapper. I cannot imagine the smoke that came from just that! And peep the double entendre: call me by your name! Basically, call me what you want—it doesn’t matter! Whew!

7.) The game is afoot, Watson. Understand (again) that this young man is playing a role. Understand this is about money, clout and marketing! The more pressed you are, the angrier you are, the more he cashes checks! I refused to be pressed about this because I know the agenda! The world said/says he is a demon destined to go to Hell? Bet! And made a sneaker line to boot? Chile! You better understand what the real issue is and how to handle it! Not sure what the issue is? Re-read Part 1, and all these pieces again.

I’ll be here when you get back.