by maLana t.Boppin’ down a summer street
comes a Brotha
A Burnin’ Brotha
with thick
sugar cane dreads
streaming from his scalp
They brush the coconut biceps
bulging from his palm tree arms
He’s painted with Hershey skin
topped with almond roasted eyes
and toffee crumb freckles
And gleaming in the sun
a smooth
bare
mahogany chest
to protect his heart’s treasures
His glance tells me
I’d be granted a key
if only I’d ask
Instead I smile
He smiles back
and the intensity of
his presence
dives into my soul
leaving ripples
across the lake of my being
They gently bounce off
the shores of my mind
until
calmly
quietly
they disperse
and his presence drains
like cold bath water
leaving melted chocolate puddles
with coconut shreds
in my footsteps as
I stroll by
Around the corner
is a Sistah
A Sizzlin’ Sistah
A silked wool curtain
of cinnamon sugar
is draped around her shoulders
and diamonds are mined
on each of her lobes
Soft water melons
with hard honey suckles
peek through her
woven grapevine blouse
Her Classic Coke bottled body
would do well to
quench my hot thirst
Licorice lips
drip sweet nectar in my ears
as she speaks
“Hi there”
The words are thunder
and her eyes blink lightning
My lake is overwhelmed by
the waterfall of her essence
and floods into
a violent ocean
My earth quakes
and tsunamis crash against the shores
until the beach boundaries are swallowed
and the force of the currents
insist on an outlet
A geyser erupts
from under my tongue
and my lips part to release the
hurricane of energy
swelling within
“Hello”
She smiles
I smile back
Sistah walks on
and I am left to wade
in a raging river
that used to be
dry panties
