PARTY AIN'T OVER YET
By Tashia "Thema" McNeil

DANCIN' INTO WOMANHOOD!

Long after my
ten year journey through
teenage sex games date rape
alcoholism incest,
I
can
finally
say,
AIt feels good to be
a woman.
I stand in front
of a mirror
and warmly embrace
me protecting celebrating cherishing my
round soft glorious African
female temple
which now houses mother-father
God welcome back
and smile at my
femininity
once buried with shameful snapshots
of how I used to give it up
a substitute for love
and how I used to shake it down
so he could feel it all around
in and out in and out
in and out in and out
all under an inebriated haze
thanks Bartles & James
making the pain not stay
not stay go away go away

now really smiling at myself
no really smiling at the
feminine me
the feminine me?
the feminine me!
who walks
into a pharmacy
decked out from head to toe
to buy a pack of
spermicidally lubricated
(for extra protection you know)
just becautse
I want to

the feminine me
the feminine me

who graciously affirms
all
the richness in her brothers
just because they deserve
to be up-
lifted
from a once
down-
troddened sister
now set free now set free!
transformed into a positive
me that feminine me a
360 degree turning in me!

sweet beautiful natural
radiant passion lawless
sensual playful
unforgettable!
making him feel
like a man real
welcoming his fiery
penetration into my
breathless ovulation co-creating
(what's pro-creating?)
our natural bond inside
each other suspended
inside making
being becoming real
lllllooooovvvvveeeee
cuz now
I'm
a
real woman dancin'
into womanhood!
I think I like it here.

...{more}

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LOVE LETTER HELLO

Dear Ebony Man,

When I picked you up
from the airport today,
my heart fell in
love with your smile
and gentle hug that
spoke, "I missed you."

Your flight was delayed
so I had time to
think some more about
the possibilities we
were about to explore
together. It feels
nice to be loved by a man
as sincere as you and yet I
hesitate to love you
back.

For so long and so many
times I've given my
heart to boys who
tore it apart 'til I
think there's nothing left,
but as I lay in my
lover's bed ready
to share my body with
him completely lovingly
boldly no holding back,
all I can do is think
about all the possibilities
we are about to explore
together. All I can
think about