invisiblinging-ning-ing–ing–ing–ing-ing …
(grinding in the night thighs covering our eyes
mathematizing the worms of our own demise) 

hooch’n dis hooch’n so’cause it hooch’n dis who
slow twirl’n regurgitating like every body else too
we snorting re-emulations each one of the others 
here in the throats of our same dark holding
watchin the lips so how dey smooth slick snide’n
shuffling here on this stage keep’n’us all abide’n
hooch’n dis hooch’n so’cause it hooch’n dis who
slow twirl’n regurgitating like every body else too
hypnotized-ing pawns robotically swoon’n on
ensconcing here in the lap of abusing mis-usings
by hang’n on to denying that this what’us seeing
is our own selves here right there as our thems
yuh aint need’n no lottery ’cause everybody we in
us over dose’n fuh duh need’n uv feel’n “i win”
spin’n in the spin’n try’n to mask our giving-up
as this insidious pervers-a-nationing
is rabidly imbibing all of us all
with all of us entangling every one of us all
hooch’n dis hooch’n so’cause it hooch’n dis who
slow twirl’n regurgitating like every body else too
if i aint do’n dis what other else is i can doing
superlatrating this desperationing pretending
here strutting all out loud in this distending OM
patty-cake patty-cake nursing the rhyme
step for stepping us all us here in time
hooch’n dis hooch’n so’cause it hooch’n dis too
swirling surging all around in the purging
of this swallowed-ing mime

Copyright © 1993, 2013, 2014 Asili Ya Nadhiri

en-clevering decadencing

splashings loudly bodaciously bodacious
loquaciously splatterings in the pupil-ling of our eyes
hooching things hazing synthesizing fantasizings
paralyzing socializing with infantizing mesmerizing
resonating burrowers here sucking on in our wallowings
who they just our aloning soliloquys begging for enfleshing
spinning making so like  us aint doing what’us doing
us wrapping up in the charmings of our potionings
wantonly colding   on the face of a numbing retarding
snorting the whims of transgendering enthrallings
squandering on in this scattering en-folding
worshipping bloodsucking hustlers mogulizing
mobilizing in-visible-lizing with visiblizing
amen-ing rationalising in a marching disregarding
canonizing this libation us keeping coming on around
drama-tizing its’ anthems as salvation for us all
here bragg’n ’bout how’us swagg’n like’us spose’n
aint no mattering ’bout druming the rhyming
or however else us syncing this sloshing in our heads
us just all in here seeing one another
as some what-ever who-ever else-ing instead

Copyright © 2007 Asili Ya Nadhiri

choral-lizing juba-lizing       a stultifying dis-synergizing

coffling eyes numbing in the humm drumm sunging
of clamorous hustlers pluming in talented tenth–ing clubs
this ancient hubris   still scheming in gangs gangling on
leeching the blood of us all   spilling here looking
it mo’ insidious now nesting in nefarious vocalizings
anesthetizing synthesizings   of old rhythmating charms
dissolving all of us denying on in our rusing refusals
to just pause while here inside   and reverently muse
scared   we all stumbling running ‘round trying to hide
from this colding emptying   swelling torridly inside us
desperately fusing   propagating on out here  all around
aloning is eroding the sands of our beaches
swallowing ourselves on in our own entangling arms
playing to the blaring sirens of this persistent dismaying
coffling eyes numbing in the humm drumm sunging
of clamorous hustlers pluming in talented tenth–ing clubs
this ancient hubris   still scheming in gangs gangling on
leeching the blood of us all   spilling here looking
it mo’ insidious now nesting in nefarious vocalizings
anesthetizing synthesizings   of old rhythmating charms
dissolving all of us denying on in our rusing refusals
to just pause while here inside   and reverently muse
standing up leaning we feeling around on our knees
snorting vain delusions of masturbating hands
shuffling our scant aborting ponderings of why
consuming all everything grabbing way ‘fore it comes
there is no anchoring ground to which we will bound
hypnotically sucking our dry brittle bones of renown
and rehearsing our vaunting howling enthrallings
so you knowing my face is the one that’s in vogue
just in case it be the case that we come to be found
coffling eyes numbing in the humm drumm sunging
of clamorous hustlers pluming in talented tenth–ing clubs
this ancient hubris   still scheming in gangs gangling on
leeching the blood of us all   spilling here looking
it mo’ insidious now nesting in nefarious vocalizings
anesthetizing synthesizings   of old rhythmating charms
dissolving all of us denying on in our rusing refusals
to just pause while here inside   and reverently muse

Copyright © 2009Asili Ya Nadhiri

sculpturing 

i want to come inside you
with warm soothing balms
rubbing all the little things
chewd and used in many dark hands

i want to come inside you
with mused drum potions
spilling tiny child notions
whispered and done as other plans

i want to come inside you
with hot native eyes
burning homemade charms
combed and dabbled on
our cunning little shames

i want to come inside you
with soft chanted psalms
pouring tender little things
into tender little things
in tender little things

Copyright © 1990 Asili Ya Nadhiri

churr-ing occurrings slurring blurrings
immersing in rueless demure-ing imbuings
blue-ing inside the walls of perjuring recurrings
!and who’s scared!
all us all of here seeing
freezing in the armless wanderings
baptizing mathematizings
of our smothering incurrings
He’s saying: “Still thuh glow dat show’n
in all what us know’n
it being as little less
and as much mighty mo’
depending how we want’n it so”

abstracting distracting contracting
(in memory of my father)

and what
is the marrow of next
if not now
what is ever never
or never ever
but signs of a hapless distend
place is in between what
and distance a splicing of the same
a measuring in what frame
of some distain covering over
all those other slippery-ing things

now is here then
always swaddling in when
boundlesslying amen
every moment is sublime
but never fully fraught
always waiting here holding on
in all this whom we’re aught

Copyright © 2015 Asili Ya Nadhiri

*when i go home
when i go home
when i go home
when i go home
when i go home
when i go home
when i go home
when i go home 

a-homing-d
(for little DeAngelo with his long thick braids)

my feet
they keep me reaching me back
where dont i still wanna go
to the frozen arms of plastic things
who they never quite feel cold
lobes i am surround this am-d
me they be damn-d
do not i care! and on i swear!!
i do not care and any wayyyyyyyyyyy!!!
a whiskeyed can dented i am-inged

in sneakered land
tried i can to rob the man
with my own bare hand
drunk not that i wuz
where lost here is the glove
made this for my hand
for to warm how i can

left sucking i here the thumb
of some body this who unknown
bumping my head with syncopated drum
‘gainst me inside who me this i in
‘til no body i here
when no body they come

*These lines refrain throughout this drawing fading on after the end
Copyright © 2003 Asili Ya Nadhiri

en-clevering decadencing

splashings loudly bodaciously bodacious
loquaciously splatterings in the pupil-ling of our eyes
hooching things hazing synthesizing fantasizings
paralyzing socializing with infantizing mesmerizing
resonating burrowers here sucking on in our wallowings
who they just our aloning soliloquys begging for enfleshing
spinning making so like  us aint doing what’us doing
us wrapping up in the charmings of our potionings
wantonly colding   on the face of a numbing retarding
snorting the whims of transgendering enthrallings
squandering on in this scattering en-folding
worshipping bloodsucking hustlers mogulizing
mobilizing in-visible-lizing with visiblizing
amen-ing rationalising in a marching disregarding
canonizing this libation us keeping coming on around
drama-tizing its’ anthems as salvation for us all
here bragg’n ’bout how’us swagg’n like’us spose’n
aint no mattering ’bout druming the rhyming
or however else us syncing this sloshing in our heads
us just all in here seeing one another
as some what-ever who-ever else-ing instead

Copyright © 2007 Asili Ya Nadhiri

entropy-nate’n syncopate’n
(aint no body aint they feel’n
what is it is dat is dey feel’n) 

shaking rainbowed colored asses
all up they is in all the faces
con-juring mixed con-jur-red mixing
there fingering here
in all the places begging
tongues waggling up
they on the stages
wet poot’n louder fart’n louder
fart’n louder fart’n louder!
fart’n louder!! fart’n louder!!!
strategizing hypnotizing
abortionating paralysing
desperating desperations
perpetrating perpetrations
impersonated flatulations
inflation-nate-ting personations
distorted ego ‘xaggerations
filled fulling fulled
of yesterdays
of yesterdays’ invaginations
dull shining canned mastur-ra-bations
engenderinged-ing
pronominals profoundly bound
sancti-fi-sighing ‘side the sound
that sanctified here humping ‘round
harry pottered elaborations
juvenilla fabrications
increasing in the crouch
of wall streeted perver-se-nations
us simulating emulations emulating simulations
snapping fingers auctionating
trying to sign on time
shuffling lips kaleidoscoping
so make the motherfuckers rhyme
shaking rainbowed colored asses
all up they is in all the faces
con-juring mixed con-jur-red mixing
there fingering here
in all the places begging
tongues waggling up
they on the stages
wet poot’n louder fart’n louder
fart’n louder fart’n louder!
fart’n louder!! fart’n louder!!!
strategizing hypnotizing
abortionating paralysing
desperating desperations
perpetrating perpetrations
impersonated flatulations
inflation-nate-ting personations
distorted ego ‘xaggerations
filled fulling fulled
of yesterdays
of yesterdays’ invaginations
dull shining canned mastur-ra-bations
engenderinged-ing
engenderinged-ing
engenderinged-ing . . .

Copyright © 2006 Asili Ya Nadhiri

the rest of my father

there deep in the child soft smile
of his thin dark lips
“tipping his hat to Miss Ann
and Sister Emma too”
was a creek of still water
and blood running red
in a short little man
shuffled back in the rear
and left limping there alone
humming “NEARRRRUH MY !LOR’R’ORD! to Theeee”
wondering just what he done wrong

he was always there by himself
when any somebody came by
to get what he had for’em free
and stand next to’im looking down
tryin to feel sump’n better ’bout theyself
and they never heard a word that he said

there deep in the child soft smile
of his thin dark lips
“tipping his hat to Miss Ann
and Sister Emma too”
was a creek of still water
and blood running red
in a short little man
shuffled back in the rear
and left limping there alone
humming “NEARRRRUH MY !LOR’R’ORD! to Theeee”
wondering just what he done wrong

everybody in the town there knowd him
and they called him Mr. Walduh by’is name
they wuz always jokin and rubbin on’is head
but they wuz talking with my mama in his stead
and they never heard a word that he said

there deep in the child soft smile
of his thin dark lips
“tipping his hat to Miss Ann
and Sister Emma too”
was a creek of still water
and blood running red
in a short little man
shuffled back in the rear
and left limping there alone
humming “NEARRRRUH MY !LOR’R’ORD! to Theeee”
wondering just what he done wrong

every Sunday sitting there in the amen corner
where all the holy men go
to show how they praying !HAH!
and how dey marching on into the kingdom come
but his turn in the corner never came
so they kept on passing on by
and they never heard a word that he said

there deep in the child soft smile
of his thin dark lips
“tipping his hat to Miss Ann
and Sister Emma too”
was a creek of still water
and blood running red
in a short little man
shuffled back in the rear
and left limping there alone
humming “NEARRRRUH MY !LOR’R’ORD! to Theeee”
wondering just what he done wrong

the preacher he stood there humming
’cause he just didn’t know what to say
so I stood up there and said what I said
to the few people there looking on
’bout the man laying there in the ground
but nobody cried not even the eyes
and when the ashes had gone to ashes
and the dust had done’n’done the same
everybody when they got up n left
had already done forgot his name
’cause they never heard a word that he said

there deep in the child soft smile
of his thin dark lips
“tipping his hat to Miss Ann
and Sister Emma too”
was a creek of still water
and blood running red
in a short little man
shuffled back in the rear
and left limping there alone
humming “NEARRRUH MY !LOR’R’ORD! to Theeee”
wondering just what he done wrong

Copyright © 1993 Asili Ya Nadhiri

grounding me down 

look at me in here
at this i doing right now
i’m waiting here inside
for something else it appear
and gone seem like it near
to this make believe
what playing here in my ear
i running back and forth
when there’s no what for
staring there inside
every go by passing car
just parade’n here strutt’n
so ’cause you then seeing me
all by myself wrapped up
in how i making like it be
cocking my head
it looking side to side
hyponotizing what i realizing
so this here that i show
be what i say to claim
that it all i have to know
and all i have to b’lieve
i ever gone need
and so long as everything
seem like i make it seem
it like i make it be
so like it really so

it like i make it seem
just like it really so

Copyright © 1998 Asili Ya Nadhiri