photo by Alex Lear

Often We Take Turns On Top

     (a sonnet for my baby)

often we take turns on top

in our marriage no one is relegated to the bottom

each of us has a vehicle plus our own lives

to live & deep love we share with numerous others

i cook fresh food improvising without recipe

you like firm avocado, coconut cookies, yellow

grits slow simmered to a buttery thickness, after dinner

you clean the carpet while i do the dishes

with sagaciously selected colors, your careful eye has 

subtly curated our space into a dwelling place divine 

here a delicious quiet permeates the atmosphere

sometimes we talk, other times we listen 

to music or revel in the silence of mutual contentment wherein 

my heart is your sacred shelter & your smile my holiest shrine

—kalamu ya salaam

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Musical composition: “Coming On The Hudson” by Thelonious Monk

Kalamu ya Salaam – vocals

Stephan Richter – clarinet

Frank Bruckner – guitar

Recorded: May 31, 1998 – Munich, Germany