(me don’t me want me be loved
want be me just me romance-inged)

*parramore-inged-ing
(like they aint no mo’ playing checkers no mo’)

ah ju’ah’ju’ah juuu ju Juuuuuuu
ah ju’ah ju juuu JUUUUUuuuuuu . . .
they dark faces wait’n ‘round
when they use’ta be stand’n dere lean’n here sit’n
stare-ing on inside veined browned yellowing eyes
who in dey heads black mans
who in dey heads jitterbugging
ah ju’ah’ju’ah juuu ju Juuuuuuu
ah ju’ah ju juuu JUUUUUuuuuuu . . .
why do you look on walking
so far-ring away here
full-ling with what
it farther-ring you on
in the cover you warming
but will not let you see
ah ju’ah’ju’ah juuu ju Juuuuuuu
ah ju’ah ju juuu JUUUUUuuuuuu . . .
arms on they alone-inged
playing on in they hugging
and all there is
is this all there is
ah ju’ah’ju’ah juuu ju Juuuuuuu
ah ju’ah ju juuu JUUUUUuuuuuu . . .
corners they porches
slowly there quickly no parking
strolling on in they standing there standing
waving out through they look’n
nodded they nodding on nodd’n avenues
ah ju’ah’ju’ah juuu ju Juuuuuuu
ah ju’ah ju juuu JUUUUUuuuuuu . . .
still hear this sump’n in’me feel’n
jes’ caint i tell what it say
still hear this sump’n in’me feel’n
jes’ caint i tell what it say
still hear this sump’n in’me feel’n
jes’ caint i tell what it say
                    duh rhyme it fake’n me out
aint what be me this any way
still hear this sump’n in’me feel’n
jes’ caint i tell what it say
still hear this sump’n in’me feel’n
jes’ caint i tell what it say
still hear this sump’n in’me feel’n
jes’ caint i tell what it say
duh rhyme it fake’n me out
aint what be me this any way
aint what be me this any way
aint what be me this any way
aint what be me this any way
ah ju’ah ju juuu JUUUUUuuuuuu . . .

*The heart-street of one of the oldest African America
residential areas

in Orlando, Florida
Copyright © 2001 Asili Ya Nadhiri

“i’ve lost the way
of what there’s left
of me that i brung
in them ship how i come
in this room it dark
caint see where my face
caint tell who this is
caint find where this place
how far is i from
this here where i come
how long i must go
‘fore will i never gone know”

nobody in here where been i is-ing
(what who is this that i be)

who is this i said was me
the one outside through whom i see
or somebody else i wish i was
what’s this i feeling i cannot see
this hole it here inside of me
is i the fault for what i be
or this scared wrapped here
around my knees
and what can i supposed to do
if nobody sees nobody in here
not even me
who dat gon come and rub me warm
’cause there aint no yesterday
so how come it i always have to cry
and why it never nobody else besides me
who’s the one that supposed to die

Copyright © 1993 Asili Ya Nadhiri

what who is this that i be

who is this i said was me
the one outside through whom i see
or somebody else i wish i was
what’s this i feeling i cannot see
this hole it here inside of me
is i the fault for what i be
or this scared wrapped here
around my knees
and what can i supposed to do
if nobody sees nobody in here
not even me
who dat gon come and rub me warm
’cause there aint no yesterday
so how come it i always have to cry
and why it never nobody else besides me
who’s the one that supposed to die

Copyright © 1993 Asili Ya Nadhiri

intussusception-ninged-ing
(rivers us known-ning bent pulling pulled
 bending ‘round the ‘lan’ic ocean
for making mo’ us all should
oughta done    be seen seen-ing)

aboding dark mattering imploding on
through in the middle of this passing on
feeling ‘round in them borned forbidden things
spawning on in the holdings
of this swallowing dark womb

stole! pour’d on this journey sowd
by some them who us!  by who’us sold
herding dark bodies herded there
herding here then
there tied one to the scared
trembling here in the other

in’us self !throwd bound
! there squeezed down in here!tight!
undulating notions surrounding and pounding!
rubbing titty nippled ‘rections warming
hardening there harder
‘gainst the hot protesting breathings
of lil’l round titties bare
scrotumed logs pinioned thronged
there wedged there bumping
in wet creviced rows
‘gainst bare naked buttocks’ backs
who ‘cause they scared!all they scared
they all scared yearning home
in the thick sweating rushing
of hypnotic body odors

us fed feeding here feeding
on this what here in there swelling
lip twisted ‘round and ‘round
knotting ‘round in’us head
gnawing down on inside another on inside
this some other some ‘nother body self-ing
here swooning rhythmic enfoldings
of them dark fleshing walls

aboding dark mattering imploding on
through in the middle of this passing on
feeling ‘round in them borned forbidden things
spawning on in the holdings
of this swallowing dark womb

Copyright © 2004  Asili Ya Nadhiri

such a familiar collaging collage

sounds rebounding
in ways only found
in words wraping ’round
them trying to be frowning
mix’n all in with just
a li’l bit’a clowning
for so hiding in here
in there’s this some body
or even smaller ones teasingly yearning
conjuring-up to distort a learning
wanting to churn inside a holy taciturn
out of which they never cannot squirm
just ’round and round and round in term

Copyright © 2015 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

lonely-ing-ness

for way long too long
you been never impounding
those pleasing surrogations
teasing in the lap of your wanting
that keeping on sipping you slowly
from the same cracked cup
of all your stone grey mornings

en-wantonly
you’ve went going bemusing on
in desperate machinations of momentary ruses
as cold armbouchures of this numbing reposing
they swallowing you up   erasing you on
in dark vicarious doses
of fondling schemata

and you abiding a little less
each time than before
regressing over and over
in your own behesting
there wrapping up inside all
your pretended pretendings
of what you thought
was meant for you

you all alone in there
in all by yourself
with nobody else
not even you

Copyright © 2010 Asili Ya Nadhiri

loving you for myself

with whom i have sat through many songs
and walked through the fires of many tribulations
with whom i have grown a many new seed
and seen their bones buried out there in the road
at whose face i never was looking
‘cause i saw myself there
was so satisfied

i remember how you use’ta say
and when’you’did’yourself there in such a way
and i always loved the thangs you done
and the sound of how you said
“the smell of your dreams
they was always trying to whisper for you”
at whose face i never was looking
‘cause i saw myself there
was so satisfied

and when we use’ta hold each other’s hand
you said this was always there in the way
and how they never let us come to the end
i never paid no never mind to what’your words
‘cause i coming so good when i rub’n wit you
at whose face i never was looking
‘cause i saw myself there
was so satisfied

and you passed on you left me here by myself
asking these walls what’you said to me then
and sucking the floors wait’n there in the hall
if they kept anything that you spilled on’em then
every night laying here on your side of the bed
smelling for the whispering that i never heard
i’m trying to come to the end
that i missing with you then

Copyright © 1995 Asili Ya Nadhiri

where i in here is i found
bound down to the sound
of the words that i rhyme
they be of all any kind
i wrapping up in the ghosts
strolling here in my mind
and i talking back to somebody
when nothing nobody said
just like this somebody else
gone have a message for myself
i standing out here
just like i waiting
for me to come showing up
from somewhere

*the pimping
(is the dark it warming
when it conceals)

and i swallowing me up
on further on down
the short narrowing throat
of this damp hairy womb
i grabbing on to the thighs
with my begging brown eyes
fondling me softly
with dried wrinkled hands
to the syncopated mumblings
of orgasmic quicksands
and this here’s how i is
and how i say i wanna be
covering up under things
i been learn to wanna see
numbing here in this body
not knowing what it ‘sposed to be
i scared about this here somebody
who i dont want
to call it me

Copyright © 2003 Asili Ya Nadhiri

APOS-TOLL-LICKING-D
(standing in here runn’n ’round in the spinning)

BOY’UMMM BA
BOY’UMMM BA
diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de
i is the one
from us who is come
for so to be done
to be done the undone-d
BOY’UMMM BA
BOY’UMMM BA
diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de
now bear you witness to the signs
to all the ones you gonna see
’cause there aint no other way
that can it never gone be
‘cept it be foretold
in here by by me
BOY’UMMM BA
BOY’UMMM BA
diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de
so keep your eyes up here
where be the camera’s on me!
gone us gone be no more pretending
like us been here now before
diii’de diii’de diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de diii’de diii’de
diii’de diii’de diii’de diii’de diii’de
jes bounce your arms they up
with your palms they down
nod your head and go
DOOMMMMMMM DE DOOMP DOOMP
DOOM DOOM DOOMMM DE DOMP
DOOMMMMMMM DE DOOMP DOOMP
DOOM DOOM DOOMMM DE DOMP

Copyright © 2000 Asili Ya Nadhiri