Smellin like I taste so sweet…

The look on my face is pure innosence…

The arch in my back is pure seduction…

The sway of my hips is purly musical…

The flex of my muscle is… heavenly to say the least

I whisper your name

You leave your mark

Sweat starts to drip

But we don’t stop

And then…….

We float…….

Then you wake up

To breakfast….. smellin like it tastes so good.

- Kenza Ashley

Music plays in real time

Life is playing is slow mo….

Helicopters over head.

Sirens blarin down the street

Shorty got her hands on her hips

Rollin her head back and forth

Talkin about her ain’t shit nigga

That she know she can’t get enough of

That ain’t shit nigga Is out doin his dirt and keepin his phone on vibrate

But before he makes it home

He’s gon stop at the store to make sure he gets her those J’s tho…..

On the other side of town

There’s a girl comin home from work

Anxious to see her son She cherishes every second spent

Cause she doesn’t know when the last one will be

Born into domestic poverty, on both sides She did what she had to

Now she lives with her blessing and her life sentence

Everyday is a struggle but it’s a gift called the present…..

Now take a trip downtown

And you’ll find the girl

Condo, car, career, 6 figure portfolio

But her bed is cold

Her condo is vacant, just like her heart

She concentrated so hard on the grind She forgot the degree and the 401k couldn’t keep her warm at night

So she wanders aimlessly through the home

And hears the echos of the family

She doesn’t see in her future.

Then in the center of it all

There’s a girl

Who just tries to live day to day

The only thing that sustains her is faith

Because Humanity is futile and fleeting

They say is pain is temporary,

But she feels that certain wounds will never heal

She keeps her head up tho

Cause she knows it could be worse

What do you call her?

What do you call them?….

I call them bone, Adam’s rib

Woman

The personification of beauty

Both tender and tough

Strength in it’s purest form

Life that keeps on giving

The upkeep and continuation of legacies never forgotten

She is song and dance walking down the street

She is The Word in the flesh

She’s the around the way girl

That’s what I call her.

Kenza Ashley

Why settle for eventually, when you can have what you want now?

I’ll setllle for eternity tho

Cause my determination will keep me going

The grind doesn’t include sleep

Hustlers, we rest one eye up

Guess I can attribute this insominac gene to dream I never have

I refuse to receive anything less than what He has for me

If that makes me bourgeois, WELP….

Ambitious is a useless label if you don’t live out it’s meaning

I am each syllable personifiedNo bragging done by me

My work speaks volumes and google helps a bit

Check me outI’m not a redbone with long hair

I’m cocoa with thick skin, strong will

And the desire to be more

To give myself to whatever makes my around me

Match how I feel on the inside

Beautiful, strong, founded, and priceless……

I watch you
Everyday in some form or fashion
Representing this family
With passion, commitment and class
Much more than I can say for most
I stand in awe
Of the undying devotion you have
And humbly say
thank you
For answering the call
To join something much greater than ourselves
A family
A brotherhood of men who saw fit to include a unique class of women unlike the ones before her
This woman had to be intelligent, driven, creative, beautiful
But most of all
Special
This woman
Had to serve in silence
And assist in an anonymous fashion
Never seeking the spotlight
But still bring quality to the background
I stand in awe
And humbly say
I appreciate you
In everything you do
Day in and day out
Holding down the brown
Lifting up the gold
And doing both so bold
I thank you
Whether or not you believe it
Some of the success we achieve
Is because you helped us reach it
So I say
Thank you
In the most sincere heartfelt way possible
Because you made a choice
To take the road less traveled
And uniquely pave a new path
And follow in the footsteps
Of a true sweetheart
So in the spirit of Audrey Brooks
I say thank you
For having the courage, determination and overall respect for this fraternity to become an Iota Sweetheart
And for sticking with the ups and downs that come with building a tradition.
From my heart to yours
I love you!
Ow-Ow my Sweetheart!

A poem by brother Daven Oglesby

Ow Sweet Bro!

I am

a culmination

of sleepless nights

over active thoughts

of creation

I am

statuesque

newly found confidence

faint glimpses of

depression and doubt

I am

faith

prayer in the flesh

scripture moving

I am

music walking and talking

poetry in color

I am

IN LOVE

I am

my number one hater’s

worst nightmare

I am

joy when it’s dark

the immovable force

against the unstoppable object

I am

eyes who have

lived through lakes

of dried tears

I am

ambition wrapped in skin

I am

generations of beauty

forced to think otherwise

I am

coco brown skin

long limbs

and swayed hips

I am

my mother’s child

By : Kenza Ashley

behind the glisten

of my brown eyes

there’s a mystery

that no one mortal can understand

you see

because I am

made up of something supernatural

how else am i still standing?

how else could not cry myself to sleep

every night?

how else could i still sing?

any mere mortal

would be committed by now

and not in a good way

my silence speaks louder

than any thousand word picture

or four page poem

it hold in what i regret

it keep hidden what most

will never figure out

it keeps me from making mistakes

its a gift

apart of the supernatural that makes me up

it keeps tamed the side

that could destroy a dynasty

the power of life and death

are predicated on the sound of my voice

so sometimes i chose not to speak

for fear of becoming a murderer

but sometimes i can’t help myself

i have to let the power be felt

its my saving grace

my gift and curse

BUT it can be your worst nightmare

so be careful….

I almost don’t want to write this down

Because deep down inside

I know you’re going to try

And find a way

To take my words and what I say

And try to make them your own

But I had a second thought

THAT would be impossible

There would be no way possible

That you could take what I’ve been through

What I go through

What I feel on a day to day

What I crave for

What I lust for

What I love

Who I love

Who I miss

The pain that courses through my body

Day in and day out

And even as this pen meet this paper…

Or even the song I sing

And turn it into your own

No matter how similar you think

We might be

My story, my words, my song, my pain,

My life is mine.

Whether or not I want to give parts away

First off

You’re nobody to be taking anything of mine

You wouldn’t want it if I was giving it away

And you probably wouldn’t even be able

To handle a piece of me

So you can try

I’ll laugh at your attempt

And I’m going to keep writing……

What I see

Is not what you see

You see a cnfident, Strong

Intelligent, immovable woman

I see someone

Who is broken and lonely

I see a heart that

Yerns to love and be loved

You see a smile

That could light up a room

You see legs that

Make strides long and Gracious

I see a person who is tired of walking.

You see a confidence

That is priceless

I see a mask put on

To hide the dried tear tracks

You see someone everyone gets along with

I HEAR what everyone says

When I walk away…….

You see all the good things I’ve done

I see and feel every time I’ve failed

You see eyes that are

Warm and inviting

But mine are calculating

Just how long it’s gonna take

For you to fuck me over……

Don’t take it person

It’s just the series

of Unfortunate Events

That have brought me to this place

of I Could Give A Fuck Less

About what you say

Because I know what you really mean…….

Wrote this three years ago, and it couldn’t be anymore true to this day….

At all of 3:21 in the mornin
My pen and pad meet again
Once Again
To ode my addiction
To the staff notes cords
And vibratos

Some are addicted
To a little white rock
Some are addicted
To a chopped up herb
Some are addicted
To that little white pill

You all know the stories
‘It wasn’t my fault
I dont know how it happened
I had to find a way
To escape to problems of the day
I had to make it numb
So i couldn’t feel the pain
Some even say
Wrong place, wrong time
Or
My friend wanted me to try

Now look what THAT addiction got them
Tryin not to drop the soap
or
Left families with no hope

But not I said the Youngin’!
I found my addiction
And its FDA approved
I dont have to sneak it, snort it, shoot it, or smoke it.
I dont have to put it in a pot
Add some baking soda and water
And cook it til it gets hard
I wont get locked away
For listening to Coltraine
I dont think the Chi-Lites are gonna kill me
I doubt Aretha and Nancy
Are gonna give me nightmares
However, that Strange Fruit
Yes, that fruit, hanging there
That simple diddy
That’ll give anyone a scare

What ever happened
To the day when Musicians had something to say
To the time when
It was cool
To say something that meant something?
What ever happened to the Marvin Gaye’s?
Oh wait,
His own daddy killed him
Where in the world is Arrested Development, Mavis Staples and Sade?

Well, I dont know where they are
But I know where I am
I sit here
Addicted to that ‘next track’ button
Addicted to the marriage
of the word and the melody
Addicted to the voices
Addicted to the lyrics
Addicted to the bass, hi-hats,808, and snares
Addicted to the guitar, violins, chellos
Addicted to the ebony and ivory keys
That officiate the marriages
Of those words and melodies

The melodies help me keep my sanity when I feel like the world is tryna murder me
I see songs when I sing and hear notes when i listen to my heart beat

And I have one thing to say about my addiction
‘If there’s a cure for this, i dont what it, I dont want it’
=)♫