We have survived another #NationalPoetryMonth !! Cheers to those who consider themselves poets, those who don’t quite know, and those who simply enjoy.
What Are We Reading 📖
Lately, I’ve found myself reaching for Nikki Giovanni’s A Good Cry a lot.. So much that it has found a new home on the side of my bed. I think I’m finally understanding the title, and seeing how it applies to my life. That’s what I love about poetry. It gives you space to sit within the words until you understand. While I love reading novels, my comfort is poetry, and in these past few months I’ve really been needing comfort.
In case you didn’t already know, Nikki Giovanni is my favorite poet in the whole wide world.
The poem that caused the understanding :
NYC (Then & Now)
I remember a book store Used to be here Walking down Fifth Avenue In my bell-bottoms and Earth Shoes Smoking a cigarette Because I didn’t know the dangers Of lung cancer nor the pleasures Of wine There was a bookstore on this Corner And that corner And the in-between places I could explore Life was difficult For a black girl With no money Who only had a dream Of talent measured by truth But passing those book stores With a confident smoke There was the possibility That’s all The Possibility
If you’re anything like me, then you know that sometimes all you have is a dream and the belief of a possibility.
When you are in the unique position of creating a new blueprint for a life that you had no guidance in curating, it is easy to become discouraged by what you don’t know and by what you don’t have.
I think it brought me comfort that my favorite poet of all time has at one point or another felt exactly how I am and feeling and still made it to be who she always knew she would be.
If you’re looking to get into reading poetry here are some of my favorites
A Good Cry (duuhh) By Nikki Giovanni
What Are We Eating 👩🏽🍳
Today, we are going to be talking about King's Sandwich Shop in Durham, North Carolina 📍. Now if you live in the RTP area and you have not tried this, don’t worry, they’re open Tuesday - Saturday 11am-4pm.
I was so excited to hear that they had vegetarian options because ya girl likes to eat. I ordered the Impossible Philly with a side of onion rings. I will say, I am also tired of having to pay extra for veggie options when the regular meat options are way cheaper, but I digress.
And while we are on the topic, in 2023, WHY am I, a customer, still being made to feel bad about my dietary decisions? In this day and age (in any day and age), everything on the menu should not have meat in it. The moral of the story is, 👏🏾restaurants 👏🏾 do 👏🏾 better 👏🏾.
I feel like the amount I paid for the onion rings and what I got did not match, but the sandwich was GOODT, OKAY! It was very tasty. The bread was soft, the veggies were flavorful, and make sure to ask for the spicy mustard. I added that to mine (it's not spicy at all).
Now, I was expecting them to have a thinly sliced veggie alternative, but honestly, I think they just broke up an Impossible patty and put it in a bun. I also asked before ordering if the veggie came with everything that the regular one did and it didn’t. The cheese was different from mine.
All in all I would definitely go back and recommend that you check it out!
What We Learn From Tears And Laughter 🥲
A lot can be learned from the events that cause us tears. April has been a pretty dry month for me, and while one may say that’s good, I know that it isn’t. In my true cancer nature I cry often.
Whether it’s a happy time, a sad time, or an idle time. My tears find a way to make their appearance.
I’ve been so busy with life lately that honestly I think my body forgot to. Too dehydrated to produce enough. Too tired to shudder. But I cried today. And it was the kind of cry that gives you a headache and stuffs your nose from all your sniffling.
I weeped on that facetime call.
In this transitional period of my life, I have so many decisions to make and so many eyes on me. I cried for the girl I used to be in thoughts of her being disappointed with how life is going right now. I cried for the girl in me needing her momma but struggling to find connection and comfort. I cried for the woman in me navigating co-creating life without having ever seen it. I cried for me.
For me, crying will always be my release and I have grown to know that though I may cry and my tries don’t feel successful just yet, at the end of all the rain showers there will always be time to laugh in what’s next.
If you enjoy this, consider reading more of my work on Medium. If you’re curious, you can to follow my journey here. If you sign up using my link, I’ll earn a small commission.
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