Jimmi Ware’s most recent poem to appear here was Red Velvet (Holiday Love), published as part of  Contributor Series 10: Silken Rags (December 2011). 

Blue Water
By Jimmi Ware

Blue water and clear skies/now I know where my truth lies/Big hugs and family ties

Cold days and hot nights/My goal is now within sight/I know it’s gonna be alright

More courage and less fear/I realize my purpose here/To spread joy and a side of cheer

I walk more/talk less/wear my yellow sundress/Exercise to release stress/Not in my best interest

I’m doing what I know is right/No fussing and no fights/Grateful each day and pray at night

Little girl/Toothless smile/Grown woman/Sense of style/Grown daughter/Straight from the Nile/Ooh, ooh, that’s my child/Brown berry princess/Top Diva/Nothing less/Warm heart lady like/Fierce when she steps to the mic

Chicago days/Alaska nights/Wintry days/Arctic writes/Family from around the world/Adopted me, lucky girl/I witnessed rainbows in Alaskan skies/Is this where my heart lies? Heaven knows/I had red dirt on my 5-year-old toes/Blazing red hair/Not a care in that world/Just Daddy’s little girl

Overcoming an ugly reality blossoms into a beautiful truth/A lesson for the youth/Some roads better left untraveled/Productive lives better left unraveled/It is imperative to forgive/Embrace reasons 2 live

Yes, I sailed in Mexico on beautiful water/A Thursday afternoon in Cancun/Lake Michigan by moonlight/Then whale watched in daylight/Alaska at night/With soulful devotion/I stood at the Arctic Ocean/Inupiat brothers/And others I love right/Beside me/I felt free

Fatherless daughter/Motherless sons/Often become the lost ones/Seeking a love that never comes/Much 2 jaded 2B so young/Angels have invisible wings/Cherubs strum harp strings/Just a few of my favorite things

Blue water/Life lines/Homophobic hate crimes/Seen a lot in my time/Penny candy now costs a dime/Kids bypassing the wonder years/Living out our worst fears/May I take your order/I was that daughter/Fighting for a dream/Unable to lean on daddy’s shoulder/Until I got much older

Blue water/Green grass/I heard him say, “Free at last”/Later I was published by his daughter/What brought her to me?/Destiny/Just as it should be

I never had a single role model/I had plenty/Mr. Moy the first of many/Who told me often that I could/Affirmed that my poetry was good/Even/When others tried to silence my thunder/Perhaps Stevie had to Wonder at times/Why ill will clouds minds/No peace shall they find  when destiny is divine

Long summers/spring flowers/no one more southern than my cousins/I love them all/They breathe football/They showed me love/They protected me … like REAL family/May the Creator guide my daughter/Throw her a lifeline when she must/Tread water/Remember to love as I taught her

Let me reflect/Keep my heart in check/Keep my head high/Never afraid to try/I cry to cleanse/I love my friends/Just floating on mental air waves to connect with you/Please remember calm waters run true/BLUE