First Breath

With blood
beating at my temples
and horizons
beckoning for discovery
land, magical
strange
taboo
waited
for my pen

Miles and Coltrane's
nightingales
awoke to trill of moonbeams
and desire

Zora,
Langston and
Octavia whispered:
"We waiting on
on you,
you better create
worlds..."

That's I when I knew
it was time to speak
rivers-- funky motifs
rip a piece of
soulful sinew
Sweeten it
Season it
cry loud
my passion

And shards of gold flecked
violet spit the air
with sound and fury!
With laughter, love and
tears I touched my lips to them
breathed life into these spirits
freed them to walk across
the page

In that hour liberation found me
In that hour I embraced her
And gave voice to my writing hand

Copyright 2009 Valjeanne Jeffers
Published In Liberated Muse Vol I: How I Freed my Soul
all rights reserved