Gems.

Tell me who you love and I'll tell you who you are.


-Creole Proverb

Muse.

Mother and Daughter. Diana and Tracee Ellis Ross.
Their hair is enough to make anyone swoon.

Gems.

When people don't love me
the way I want them to
it's like getting a Christmas gift
I'll never use.


-Shellel Freeman

Gems.

... Fear warns that this may kill me, spirit knows that it will not.


-Sacriyd

The Foreign Exchange feat Mushinah, House of Cards

"Gotta find my way home..." -Phontae

From My Eye(phone).

Chicago. July, 2009.
Selina Carrera. And yours truely. Living life, golden.

Taraji P Henson Goes Nude for P.E.T.A

Taraji P. Henson has no problem going naked - for a cause.
The actress is the latest celebrity to pose nude for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign.
In the ad, the 40-year-actress is pictured from the side without any clothes but with her left arm blocking most of her breasts and her legs crossed to keep her private parts, well, private.
Clearly visible: Henson's vine tattoo that appears to go all the way around her waist.
The ad notes that "animals killed for their fur are electrocuted, drowned, beaten, and often skinned alive."
"Be comfortable in your own skin," it reads, "and let animals keeps theirs."
Henson was inspired to join the campaign after viewing "I Am an Animal," a documentary about fur farms and the skinning process.
"Before I saw that documentary, I would wear fur," she said. "But I saw this documentary, and I was riveted. I cried."
"I don't think a living being should suffer for the sake of fashion, period. End of story," Henson added. "You don't have to kill an animal just because you want to be hot and fly. And I really stand by that."


http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2011/01/28/2011-01-28_taraji_p_henson_poses_nude_for_petas_id_rather_go_naked_than_wear_fur_campaign.html

Gems.

Every inch of this land is ground zero to someone.


-Tim Wise

Wiz Khalifa- Up

"Everytime I try to leave, I'm right back again...." -Wiz

Gems.

The love expressed between women is particular and powerful. Because we have had to love in order to live. Love has been our survival.


-Audre Lorde

alaskaLand; a film by Chinonye Chukwu

A good friend of mine, a true Queen, Chinonye Chukwu is making a film and has an
OPEN CASTING CALL!

Where’s the Fire? Filmworks is casting feature film, entitled “alaskaLand”, a story about a young, Nigerian-American male that must figure out how to navigate between these competing identities in his hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska.
WHEN: FEBRUARY 12TH, 2011
... 11 AM – 4:30 PM
WHERE: THE SOURCE THEATER
1835 14th street NW, Washington DC
PLEASE BRING: Headshot(s), Resume and ONE Prepared 1-2 minute monologue

Haiku for Eugene Redmond, by Sonia Sanchez (1 of 4)

You have taken down
the morning turned it into
a roar of blackness


-Sonia Sanchez (4 haikus for Eugene Redmond)

Bilal, All for Love

Maybe it's,
I am a seeker
in search of a dreamer.
And
she dreams.
She dreams.
She lays her head down and dreams.
Or maybe it's me this time.
But baby, let's live...
-Bilal

Muse.

Marsha Hunt.

Nina Simone, Sinnerman

"Cant you hear me praying Lord?...."- Nina Simone

The Police, Roxanne

"You don't have to put on the red light...."-The Police

Gems.

Full is not heavy as empty.
Not nearly my love.
Not nearly.


-Fiona Apple

Gems.

We need more light about each other.
Light creates understanding,
understanding creates love,
love creates patience,
& patience creates
unity.


-Malcolm X

Gems.

I am not fly; I am levitation.
-Nicki Minaj

Poem three, Warsan Shire

the unbearable weight of staying



i don't know when love became elusive
what i know, is that no one i know has it
my fathers arms around my mothers neck
fruit too ripe to eat, a door half way open
when your name is a just a hand i can never hold
everything i have ever believed in, becomes magic.

i think of lovers as trees, growing to and
from one another searching for the same light,
my mothers laughter in a dark room,
a photograph greying under my touch,
this is all i know how to do, carry loss around until
i begin to resemble every bad memory,
every terrible fear,
every nightmare anyone has ever had.

i ask did you ever love me?
you say of course, of course so quickly
that you sound like someone else
i ask are you made of steel? are you made of iron?
you cry on the phone, my stomach hurts

i let you leave, i need someone who knows how to stay.


-Warsan Shire
warsanshire.blogspot.com

Poem eleven, Warsan Shire

for women who are 'difficult' to love.



you are a horse running alone
and he tries to tame you
compares you to an impossible highway
to a burning house
says you are blinding him
that he could never leave you
forget you
want anything but you
you dizzy him, you are unbearable
every woman before or after you
is doused in your name
you fill his mouth
his teeth ache with memory of taste
his body just a long shadow seeking yours
but you are always too intense
frightening in the way you want him
unashamed and sacrificial
he tells you that no man can live up to the one who
lives in your head
and you tried to change didn't you?
closed your mouth more
tried to be softer
prettier
less volatile, less awake
but even when sleeping you could feel
him travelling away from you in his dreams
so what did you want to do love
split his head open?
you can't make homes out of human beings
someone should have already told you that
and if he wants to leave
then let him leave
you are terrifying
and strange and beautiful
something not everyone knows how to love.




-Warsan Shire
warsanshire.blogspot.com

Nicki Minaj, Cover of V Magazine

Face/body paint? I LOVE IT. I am a Nicki Fan. I don't care what anyone says...

Muse.

Breathtaking.

Gems.

When we create out of our experiences, as feminists of color, women of color, we have to develop those structures that will present and circulate our culture.


-Audre Lorde

Gems.

I am who I am
doing what I came to do
acting upon you
like a drug or a chisel
or remind you of your me-ness
as I discover you in myself.


-Audre Lorde

Minstrel Man, Langston Hughes

Because my mouth
Is wide with laughter
And my throat
Is deep with song,
You do not think
I suffer after
I have held my pain
So long?
 
Because my mouth
Is wide with laughter,
You do not hear
My inner cry?
Because my feet
Are gay with dancing,
You do not know
I die?
 

-Langston Hughes

Gems.

Endure till all things change insensibly before your eyes. You are changing with them....

Muse.

Gems.

It's the little things. There's nothing bigger, is there?


-Vanilla Sky

Gems.

Did I ever love him? Or did I just love the exquisite pain of loving someone so unattainable?


-Carrie (Sex and the City)

Muse.

Ah yes. Penelope Cruz.

Muse.

Jimi. Hendrix.

Muse.

Nina Simone.

Gems.

the kisses they take a slow blues walk
back to me
in the palm of my hand
they spread out/ scratch kick curse & punch
till my skin cries/
kisses raisin hell/ in my fists
they fly out mad and eager
they'll fly out mad and eager
if you look at me how you do so i am naked
& wantin


-Ntozake Shange (its happenin/ but you dont know abt it)

Gems.

i cant allow you to look at me
how you do so i am naked and wantin
to be explored like a honeysuckle patch
when you look at me how you do so
i am all lips and thigh/
my cover is blown & the kisses
run free/ only to hover sulkin over
yr cheek/ while i pretend
they are not mine


-Ntozake Shange (its happenin/ but you dont know abt it)

Gems.

The roots of your hair/
what turns back when we sweat, run, make love, get afraid, get happy:
the tell-tale signs of living.


-Ntozake Shange

A Lover's Song, Audre Lorde

Give me fire and I will sing you morning
Finding you heart
And a birth of fruit
For you, a flame that will stay beauty
Song will take us by the hand
And lead us back to light.

Give me fire and I will sing you evening
Asking you water
And quick breath
No farewell winds like a willow switch
Against my body
But a voice to speak
In a dark room.


-Audre Lorde

If You Come Softly, Audre Lorde

If you come as softly
As wind within the trees
You may hear what I hear
See what sorrow sees.

If you come as lightly
As threading dew
I will take you gladly
Nor ask more of you.

You may sit beside me
Silent as a breath
Only those who stay dead
Shall remember death.

And if you come I will be silent
Nor speak harsh words to you.
I will not ask you why, now.
Or how, or what you do.

We shall sit here, softly
Beneath two different years
And the rich earth between us
Shall drink our tears.


-Audre Lorde

Muse.

Dorthy Dandridge.

Zap Mama, Call Waiting

"Its like an island
In the middle of the sea...
You and me mixing together."
-Zap Mama

Muse.

His Flyness.

Muse.

Muse.

Ashe.

Gems.

Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain.


-Billie Holiday

Gems.

Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me--so different that I had to stretch and grow in order to recognize her. And in that growing, we came to separation, that place where work begins.


-Audre Lorde

Gems.

Talk to strangers
when the family fails and friends lead you astray
when Buddha laughs and Jesus weeps and it turns out God is gay.
'Cause angels and messiahs love can come in many forms:
in the hallways of your projects, or the fat girl in your dorm,
and when you finally take the time to see what they’re about
perhaps you find them lonely or their wisdom trips you out.


— Saul Williams

Muse.

Flyness.

Muse.

As Princess Kaiulani (a movie I want to see!).
Q'orianka Kilcher. Good. Night.

Venus in Scorpio (freewrite)

The Scorpio Venus is rising.
I am strangling space with my sting.
And needing to posess
Something warm and near.
(The irony,
of the Scorpio
being the final straw:
It has stung us both.)
My posession
Beyond four walls 
Is too risky.
I struggle to understand.
Don't watch as I walk away.
I can't stand to feel your eyes 
Apologizing.


-HF

Muse.

A riot is the language of the unheard.


-Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Martin Luther King Jr.
Celebrating your legacy, every day, and ESPECIALLY on this day.

Gucci, Spring 2011 Ad Campaign

Gucci Spring 2011 Ad Campaign
Model: Joan Smalls

Gems.

What the mind doesn't understand, it worships or fears.


-Alice Walker

Gems.

A lot of people refuse to do things because they don't want to go naked, don't want to go without guarentee. But that's what's got to happen. You go naked, until you die.


-Nikki Giovanni

Random Thought.

Taking a leap of faith,
I need to ensure a safe landing.
Better equipped woman,
Have crashed and burned on the jump.
Leaving only ash,
And the familiar stench of a woman's heart:
Memories,
And weakness,
And,
Immortality. 


-HF

Muse.

Kerry Washington, LA Magazine.
(swoooooon!)

Muse.

Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.

Random Thought.

In a past life,
You were a feather
On one of my wings.
I'm waiting for you
To be part of my freedom
Again.


-HF

From My Eye(phone).

Comfort Food.
Summer 2010.

Gems.

Somewhere there is a dream, dreaming of you.


-Zenecia Moor

Gems.

Juno MacGuff:'Cause you're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try, you know...
Paulie Bleeker: I try really hard, actually.


-Juno

Muse.

Elaine Brown. (Me in another life.)
Straight hair don't care.

Gems.

We are all here for a reason on a particular path
You don't need a curriculum to know that you are part of the math
Cats think I'm delirious, but I'm so damn serious
That's why I expose my soul to the globe, the world
I'm trying to make it better for these little boys and girls
I'm not just another individual, my spirit is a part of this
That's why I get spiritual, but I get my hymns from Him
So it's not me, it's He that's lyrical.


-J. Ivy (Never Let You Down)

Kanye West feat Talib Kweli and Common, Get Em High

*Classic.

Gems.

The root function of language is to control the universe, by describing it.
-James Baldwin

Mean Shoe Game.

Manolo Blahnik. Catalina Heel. These feathers.... The end.

Muse.

Portrait of Huey P. Newton (1942 - 1989) taken as he was interviewed by a Liberation News Service reporter on the campus of Yale University.
New Haven, Connecticut. April, 1970.
(Photo by David Fenton/Getty Images)

Guilty Pleasures

Degrassi
Candy Corns (all year long)
Celebrity Gossip Rags
Dl'ing music illegally
Expensive Shoes


-HF

Lorna Simpson, 15 Mouths

Lorna Simpson - 15 Mouths
American, b.1960
15 Mouths, 2002

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1960, Lorna Simpson began her career as a documentary photographer. Recognized in the mid-1980's for her provocative photographs of black women that challenged racial and gender stereotypes, Lorna Simpson soon began to investigate the myriad readings of photography, making conceptual compositions that combined black-and-white images with text and used the discrepancy between the two to block traditional or stereotyped interpretations. She is perhaps best known for works that link words with potent images and require the viewer to participate in the creation of the meaning.

This piece was originally an instillation piece that consisted of 15 video recorded mouths humming the Rodgers and Hart tune Easy to Remember. She chose the song specifically as she has vivid memories of John Coltrane’s version of the song being present throughout her childhood. The text that goes along with the photo seems to refer to a monologue inside those whom the lips belong.

Kirya Traber

Speak my life, Queen. Thank you.

Gems.

It's a woman's perogative to change her mind.


-"She Hate Me"

Mo(u)rning Sunlight

Belonging to my exposed skin,
You mold warm around collarbone.
Effortlessly.
Rising to the thought of you,
I am available. 
And you're easy.

But the days are short.
Barely time for you to dance,
And I remember when
We were spinning around our shadows.

The evening has hurried herself here 
With no consideration for our exchanges and
I am itching for the caress of your heat.
Whimpering to ghosts 
Who taunt me in the dark spaces you've left behind.
Crashing quietly,
Like stars in the fragile night.

Waiting, 
Alone
For the dawn.
Who,
Is staying away,
And straying sooner.
Sunlight,
Absent at my bedside.
A tease.
Rarely returning my affections.

But I am learning to exsist,
Without my skin prowled by your fingertips. 
Bronzed with each touch.
She screams softly
The song of a distant lover. 

I am mourning.
We have became night time and buisness.
Nothing
Simple
Seems to last.
Nothing too hot 
Can be grasped. 
But I love with my palms.
Wearing burns as a sign of my audacity.
And a warning of my bad habits.
Be warned.   
 
There are hairs that only exsist when you whisper to the back of my neck.
I want to find home in their universe.
Hum the songs that they sway to,
Because I can't recognize this silence most live in.
Their quiet love that resists moans.
And manifests,
Overcast,
Causing disasters in their bedrooms.  

I want to remember what it felt like, 
Consumed in this embrace.
Glowing. 
 

-HF