"Words' Worth" Poetry Readings
Poets at the Culture, Arts, and Parks Committee
of the Seattle City Council.
Propensity by Brenda Givens
She had the propensity to sing
And so she did
It was the lubricant administered against the
friction of her daily struggle to survive
Her voice dispersed within the atmosphere
like water droplets jetting from a fountain
cooling all who wandered within earshot -
Her angelic utterances, a healing balm
She had the propensity to express within a single note
the corrupt nature flourishing within the world she lived -
the volatility of those who endured conditions worse than
the rats plaguing her children in the soft moonless night
Deep waters -
deeper yet
Her spirit rose
as her body drifted through the undercurrents - day to day
The timbre of her voice rumbled when she moaned in
sorrowful release
and passersby remarked in awesome veneration,
Òthat girl has the propensity to sing...Ó
My Woods by Brenda Givens
Green
and shades of green.
The pallet of heaven and earth are
sundry blues and browns and greens.
The carpet of leaves
deflect the fat droplets falling from the trees-
sounding like the drums
sounding like the train on old tracks
sounding like the footfall of a thousand soldiers marching
YouÕd have to see
to feel
to experience
what I saw.
Then youÕd know
how sweet the air can really feel
or
just how light
and water
and green
can heal the troubled soul.
Not Quite Tame by Brenda Givens
Her leather pumps fall softly
upon concrete pathways
the breeze moves gently
through her wildish hair
no one pays her any mind
they disregard her stormy glimmer
in most ways
she resembles them
in many ways
she takes on human traits
in some ways
she exemplifies tranquility
but..
in the recesses of her smile
It translates through
she is not quite tame
Family Tree by Brenda Givens
When I die
ThereÕll be nothing left of me
nothing left of me
nothing left of me
Except for a memory
Inside Ryan, Christofer and Linsay
Then IÕll gladly climb that tree
above those who were free
and those bound by slavery.
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