CHUMA SPIRIT Magazine

February 2008 Poem of the Month Honoree: Stan Stewart

GENESIS

I see your tears run down your face
In your reflection in the window
Though your back is turned to me

And you wonder
Like I wonder
How it all came down to this
It started, Dear Heart, with a kiss

A gentle touching of our lips and you were hooked you just knew
And you had to have another & another and received such as our love grew

And these led to great times of sunshine and of rain
Of joy of the inner Woman and the heartache of love’s pain

Then led to this time
This place

Where we must decide if we are to go on or let go of this love of a lifetime

And you wonder
Like I wonder
How it all came down to this
It started
Dear Heart
With a kiss…

Stan Stewart is a true Renaissance Man. He is an Actor, a Motivational Speaker, and a Poet/Spoken Word Artist. He has performed in Principal roles on critically acclaimed television programs and movies such as HBO’s The Wire, NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Streets, and the HBO movie, Something the Lord Made. His accomplishments include academic honors and community service awards, award-winning recognition as a motivational speaker, and selection for honors such as DC Poet Delores Kendrick’s “Poets In Progress” program. He also serves as a rotating National News anchor for the Department of Veterans Affairs program VA News. Most recently, he published his first book of poetry One Out of Darkness: Poems of a DC Brother. He and his family reside in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Contact Info:
Stan Stewart
(202) 461-5794
Stan.Stewart@e2k.va.gov

January 2008 Poem of the Month Honoree: L.M. ROSS

For All Minor Poets:

I have walked
Beside minor poets
Under indigo night
Skies... My brethren and I
Have walked
And talked alongside
Open Hearts
Open souls
And eloquent throats
Full of words,
Our mortal coils thick with
Woe and sometimes even
Bliss. Yes
I've walked
With minor poets
As we treaded
Beneath a canopy of
Jealous stars, static
Inside their
Silver sockets
And struck utterly
Wordless
At the earth
We build
With our
Tongues.

LM Ross is a New York writer and a poet of immense musicality. His work, which has appeared in over 270 magazines, journals and anthologies echoes the best of lyric writers, and yet contains brutal slashes of honesty.

His novels include the haunting, "Manhood... The Longest Moan," a story of youthful ambition, maturing success and heartbreaking disappointment, and Ross' latest work "The Moanin After" is the sequel, and a deep, wistful, brave and harrowing account of a handful of New York denizens seeking to find their wings after the winds of flight have been taken away by absence, disease and death. But more than pure story, his novels sing with a poetic music inherent in the writing. His work is is like a jazz movement and a Blues suite mingling with memory, life and tension as Ross' uniquely poetic voice sings throughout the narrative.

Contact Info:
L.M. Ross
www.myspace.com/manhoodthenovel
lin.jazzbro1@gmail.com

December 2007 Poem of the Month Honoree: VIOLETTE L. REID

TO LATIF-A Love Poem
When you place your lips upon me
My heart beats like the thundering drums of Africa
Echoing through my torso –
A hallow shell – empty
Save for this heart
Reaching through foreign ancestry
To grab the lustier creature lurking inside of me
I meditate on your stature – strong
I crave you
Not just physical beauty but the mental intricate workings
Of your cerebral artistry
Your soul sings
Like the erotic serenade of crickets
Seeking companionship in the thicket of lush green
You grace me with your being
Standing upright eclipsing my eyes like
Sun and moon embracing in the shadow
Defacing my previous preconceived fantasies
That falls short of thee
How many times can I loose myself within your caress?
And savor each intimate tryst that sparks and glint
Like a firefly kiss that ignites with pure chemistry
Creating a chaotic emotional symphony
Bringing envy to mythical Eros
Yet represents our reality
Sweet man of mine
Lay thy hand upon my quivering cheek
Folding under your touch like a forlorn rose
Upon its last petal weak
As feeble as an angel falling with wounded wing
I realize how blessed I am among women
To live this fervent dream of lovers resurrecting magic
Each morning with a mere kiss
And each night in pure bliss
I long for eternity my ebony prince
Please grant me this

BIOGRAPHY

Violette L. Reid, a happily married mother, writer, painter, poet, and native of Atlanta, Georgia, earned her B.A. in English at Clark Atlanta University. Writing since her preteen years, she has written over 1,200 poems (a few have been published on numerous poetry sites and in poetry anthologies), and 25 short stories. Her first published book called Violette Ardor: A Volume of Poetry has received rave reviews. Violette is currently working on the sequel to her fantasy novel, a supernatural novel, a life drama novel, and a screenplay. She also publishes a monthly internet entertainment newsletter called PeachPublishing on her website that features art, literature, and miscellaneous features from various artists and writers from around the globe. The First Chronicle of Zayashariya: Out of Night is her first novel. You can read more about Violette L. Reid at www.Violette L. Reid.

Contact Info:
Violette L. Reid
770-437-8908
www.VioletteReid.com
VioletteReid@yahoo.com

November 2007 Poem of the Month Honoree: RAY DOMINGUEZ

IF YOU ONLY KNEWIf you only knew that to watch you while you lay still
Like silent in the night… I admire you…I admire you
Like constellation in the sky as if you were the only star to shed light upon my night
Its good to know that your love and my love can be shared on an island somewhere
far out at sea as we stand like volcano’s rugged yet intrigued
Like wouldn’t it be great if I can climb you and you can climb me
Not knowing what will trigger each other’s eruption, but when we do erupt
We do not kill life we create life
You and I are like roots intertwined together to become these two giant redwoods
Standing firm yet loving one another underground
so that no other tree knows of our existence
But they will respect us because unlike oak trees we will not be made into beds
We will be gazed at… like wonders upon this planet
And we will grow old together…we will grow old together
and I will love you more than the sun that has fed you life
and the moon that has blessed your rest…
and I’ll pray
I’ll pray that I am the one to fall first…
so that when your day comes and you tumble upon my bark
even in my afterlife I will be there to comfort your fall
I know that we have only known each other for like a million hours or so
But my spirit is yours and your spirit is mine
And if you ever decide never to love me again when you awake in the morning
My heart will not be broken; It will be filled with life
and I will carry that life forever until infinity has an end
And don’t ever be mistaken; you’re just not that girl, you are my friend
And like a rose needs a stem and honey is created by bee’s
I will thank God every day for allowing you to be one with me
So good night my love, for words cannot express what I feel when I watch you sleep
Good Night
BIOGRAPHY

Ray Dominguez, a.k.a. Knowledge, has been on the spoken word poetry scene for just the past ten years and has made strives along the way. He is a native of The Bronx, New York, and a father of four (Raymond Jr. 21, Krystal Starr 14, Michael Ray 13, Peter Gabriel 6) he has always believed in teaching today’s youth on ways to express themselves with words rather than angry behavior. A graduate of Barry University with a degree in English, Ray Dominguez founded a non-profit organization called The Write Side Poets Inc. he and a group of poets go into inner cities schools and teach students how to read and write through poetry, and thus, offers them community service hours for going into after school programs and teaching younger kids how to read and write poetry. In 2005, The Write Side Poets branched out from their home in Tampa, Florida and started another branch in Ft. Lauderdale. Ray is also a member of the international known poetry troupe Black-on-Black Rhyme and a founding member of the National Youth Spoken Word Coalition. Knowledge has been on three different Slam teams: Spit Fiya 2003 in Chicago, Florida State United 2004 in St. Louis, and placed 10th overall with the Del Ray Beach team in 2005 at the National Poetry Slam that competed in New Mexico. Knowledge has also been published in the Go Riverwalk and Soul Frito Urban Newspaper. He has also hosted Metaphoric Libation on Tuesday nighst at the G.O.A.T Lounge in Las Olas River Front, while also appearing on 88.7 WNMF Sunday morning radio show. For booking information contact The Write Side Poets Inc. at 954.531-6266 or email rdominguez@writesidpoets.org.