2 / 30 : balloons.

balloons are something

we take for granted

until you're standig at a counter

trying to figure out how much

are you willing to spend

for an inflatable mylar container

that will ultimately deflate

or fly away

and even though

thirteen dollars is

an exorbitant amount spent

on balloons

for the people that

you really care about

you'd do buy 

almost anything

1 / 30 : hoop dreams.

day one. im excited! 

check out nasty nate marshall's blog here.

also, wanna see more 30/30 poems? Holla!

hoop dreams

i woke up this morning

to ESPNEWS headlines blaring about

Beale Street Blues and

a Bluegrass Dynasty

and I see Mr. John

in a blue shirt with a different logo

talking about this new job

and his dream coming true

and i know that memphians are

pissed 

hoping that this is an april fools joke

praying that

the king of memphis has not

abandoned his throne

but what fans will never understand

is the fact that coaches

like mr. john

like my daddy

have dreams too

and in this world

and this lifestyle they have chosen

there are no hurt feelings

its just business

but thinking about mr. john's kids

who i've grown up with

who have to move again

for the umpteenth time

like me and my brother

being dragged around from state to state

because of daddy's dreams

was something i didn't understand

when i was 3

when i was 4

when i was 10

when i was 12

when i was 15

but now im 6 years wiser

and im watching the tv screen

as mr. john who i've known

as long as i can remember

close a chapter and embark

on a dream 

i couldn't be any prouder

to dare to dream

in the public arena is 

the most courageous act

a man can do 

and years ago when i was 13

sobbing on my bed with

moving boxes all around me

i couldn't understand

and i couldn't see

that i should step back

dry my tears

show my support

and allow my dad

the chance to dream

welcome to the 30 day challenge.

april is national poetry month.

which is awesome.

and alot of poets across the country are taking up the 30 days, 30 poems challenge.

one poem a day. everyday.

my friend nate marshall did it a few months ago. it was sick.

he's doing it again and i am too.

so i'll be pasting a link to his blog as the days go by

and to other poets who are taking up the challenge.

april first, day one. enjoy the show. 

makedamnsure.

if i can think of any lesson

that i've learned this school year

that is slowly winding to a close

make damn sure

makedamnsure that you

know exactly who you are

and never forget

write it down

put it in your blackberry

set a reminder once a week

hide it under your mattress

like a 4th grade diary 

scribble it on a post it note

and place it by your light switch

because if you don't remember

they will rip you up

and tear you down

and tell you that you

are everything that you're not

everything they despise

so before its too late

and you lose the faith

you better make damn sure

makedamnsure 

you dont submit

never forget

day n nite.

as much as i hate papers

and bullshit assignments i love 

our study sessions

itssooooocutebaby

when you sit down next to me

on my bed posted up on the wall

with your book filled with crazy problems

numbers and things that look like squiggles 

with your headphones on

tapping your right hand on the page

scribbling answers with your left

and its usually around 3:30 am that i 

wrap my assignments up or

set my alarm to wake up at 6 to finish

i turn to look at you and your head

is bobbing up and down, exhausted

eventually one of us will fall over

or fall off the bed. so sad.

and we put the books and bookbags

and pencils and paper

on the ground and i crumble

into your arms under my covers

snuggled in the sheets ears pressed

against your chest listening to your heart beat

and by this point in the night

or the morning, technically

your arms always find a way

to wrap around my chest

stroke my hair and breathe into

my ear until you fall asleep

you usually fall asleep before i do

so im half dazed laying here

looking up at you 

counting your eyelashes

stroking your cheek

until i lose count and i fall asleep

rinse

wash

repeat

a poem written when i should be studying.

sometimes you need to just

do the exact opposite of what needs to be done

at the moment

right now i should be studying for

a general logic test that i'll probably fail but

this poem needs to 

sprout wings and take root and be

presented to the world

and although everything is different

and i wouldn't have imagined it

six months ago things are

better than i would have imagined

and although last week i

threw up a white flag in defeat

this week i came out guns blazing

and although now things are more tense

on this campus than normal

in more ways than one

the storm inside of me

is calming down

and although my head is stuffy

im sneezing like a motherfucker

and im breathing like a creep

its time to renew and its time to

wake up

in the woods

these days i feel like

im all alone

and next year

i'll get a big big room

biggest room on campus

more space to be alone

and next year 

i'll be lsat prepping

and application writing

and internship begging

in a corner of central library

all alone

and after its all said and done

tassel turned to the right

i'll pack up and head out

to the real world

whatever that is

all alone

and i know that everyone says

that we'll be together

every step of the way

but here i am

in the middle of the woods

forgot my way in

dont know my way out

and im

all alone