Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

 Yesterday I planted marigolds. 21 days later and I planted flowers.  I dug and I cried and wondered and thought and dug again.  I wiped my hands on my pants and wiped my eyes on my sleeve.  I sat on my carport and listened to the evening birdsong.  I considered that in nature, when birds sing, it means danger is far away.  But is it ever truly far away?  My neighbor came out and told me that his brother-in-law died in a horrific highway accident. No, danger is never far away. And I wondered where you were 21 days in.  Are you floating above us watching us cry?  Are you reincarnated into a beautiful baby boy in Indonesia?  Are you happy are you sad are you anything?  Do you miss us or remember us at all?  Are you skateboarding in your new body?  Are you Patrick Swayze searching for your Whoopi Goldberg interpreter? What do I believe now that I've crossed over the dividing line of middle age about what comes next?  We ...

 Carry yourself like a beautiful woman Even if you feel tired Even if you feel ugly Walk as if you are an aristocrat Hold your head as if you are regal Reach out your hand as if you are a goddess. Carry yourself like a beautiful woman Smile at everyone Watch strangers smile back Wait as men open doors for you Women will want to befriend you Children will climb into your lap. Carry yourself like a beautiful woman Steady your voice  Slow your steps Listen as people quiet themselves for you And feel their movement pace with yours. Carry yourself like a beautiful woman Watch as the world waits for you Quiet yourself as it listens to you Step into your power Become who you've always meant to be.

 When it's cold outside, I wonder if you've zipped up your jacket.  I wonder if you're looking out of windows at the snow.  I wonder if you miss your mother. When someone our age dies, I wonder if you ever stopped drinking.  I wonder if you're living better.  I wonder if you're trying harder. When I see anime, I wonder if you went to school today.  I wonder if you're eating enough.  I wonder if the world will get wider for you. When I hear a Southern drawl, I wonder if you're driving.  I wonder if your smile is just as happy.  I wonder if I'll meet you in that same parking lot. When I see fireworks, I wonder if you remember that summer.  I wonder how my heart ever healed.  I wonder how I ever let you go. When I hear The Clash, I wonder if you're still fighting the man.  I wonder if you ever quit that shitty job.  I wonder if you ever left home. When I hear a baby cry, I wonder if his mother is okay.  I wonder if they'...

Life is full of Cryptic codes Mysterious voyages Obstructed justice Ambiguous instructions Changing passwords Closeted desires Secret handshakes Clandestine meetings Dark corners Veiled threats Conspiratorial glances And Private rooms And you will find yourself very, very lucky If you are never know a thing about any of them.

I'll tell you why women don't tell...... Because even though there are laws, you still feel like you'll lose your job. And if you lose your job, how will you pay your bills? And if you can't pay your bills, who will you turn to for help? I'll tell you why women don't tell..... Because what if no one believes you? Then you're the woman who makes up stories. You're the woman who stirs up trouble. You're the woman who wrecked the morale. I'll tell you why women don't tell..... Because somehow he will make you feel like it's your fault. And the blame will somehow be yours. For the skirt you wore, the smile you offered. And that one time you laughed because you didn't know what else to do. I'll tell you why women don't tell...... Because you're not sure who or anyone will be on your side. You've seen women cluck their tongues at other women your whole life. And men look the other way and pr...

If you were a true pacifist, you wouldn't want a monument to any war, regardless of how your side fared. If you were a true historian, you wouldn't want to erase any facts, regardless of how ugly or barbaric they look in the light of the modern day. If you were a true humanist, you wouldn't wait for a god tell you what's right, regardless of how much easier it is to follow the herd. If you were a true pragmatist, you wouldn't argue for material things, regardless of how comfortable and protected they made you feel. If you were a true individualist, you wouldn't wait for other opinions to help you make up your mind, regardless of how smart the thinkers thought. If you were a true philosopher, you wouldn't sleep at night for all the questions in your mind, regardless of how concrete it appeared on the news. If you were a true pessimist, you'd never get out of bed. If you were a true optimist, you'd never stop smiling. If you were a true...

Against the day of sorrow Lay by some trifling thing A smile, a kiss, a flower For sweet remembering. Then when the day is darkest Without one rift of blue Take out your little trifle And dream your dream anew. (Georgia Douglas Johnson) Lexington Avenue, Asheville NC June 2017

My baby boy My noisy toy My bottle rocket My hole in the pocket My sun and my wind My world without end My shining light My one thing done right My growing boy My single joy

Be fat Be thin All your beauty is within Don't let society dictate you Stand up for yourself too Don't raise your voice But speak your truth Never let anyone push you around. Hide your fears Share your wins Be bold Be humble Be proud Be meek Turn the other cheek. Welcome and accept all Be who you are Show understanding Be undemanding But don't settle Expect your due worth Competition is healthy But comparison is tricky Love yourself and just do you. I am not a slut I am not a crook I am not a criminal I was not born yesterday I am not your role model How dare you judge me? You'll be perfect if you'll just.... You're fine the way you are She's great too He is better They are best There are no second places Winners all around. You suck You rock You complete me Please delete me Unfriend me Defend me Please stop trying to be me. Adulting Consulting Resulting Confusion Delusion The world is mine Auld...

Some of you are not good people. You may have a heart, but that heart is so closed you may as well not have one at all.  Your hands are cold and hard and don't know how to hold and provide warmth.  Your hunger, your urges, your needs are the only ones you feel.  Your legs walk only for yourself.  Your veins are filled with ice.  Your brain is closed.  Your eyes are clouded.  You hear but don't listen.  You see but have no vision.  Your loins are dry.  Your senses dulled.  Your body is practically a shell.  Some of you are not good people. You lie to get what you want.  You cheat to have more.  You do things that aren't altogether wrong but definitely aren't right either.  You break the law.  You bend the law.  You break and bend people to your will.  You're a user.  You're an instigator.  You tell yourself that what you do is okay "because reasons".  Your life is a...

Let me be angry.  Let me cry if I want to. Let me complain. Let me grieve. Let me have a minute. Let me be scared. Let me turn you off. Let me have silence. Let me commiserate. Let me hate you. Let me forget you. Let me say what I need to say. Let me scream. Let me feel it. Let me wrap myself up. Let me lick my wounds. Let me have my moment. Let me think on this. Let me process. Let me have time. Let me have space. Or let me be.

actually, Gil..... the revolution will be televised then by social media it will be quickly trivialized while the dark-skinned people are marginalized and the light-skinned people are criticized and the unknown dead are immortalized yes, by god the revolution will be televised (With respect to Gil Scott-Heron , RIP)

a new baby's born an old man dies you cry, you sigh, you die a little inside you keep it moving because you have to you quarrel you fight you tell little and big lies you hold it all in until the night you keep it moving because you have to you push you pull you fight to stay alive lie to your mother that everything is fine you keep it moving because you have to you sell the dream fill the need hide behind the walls where no one can see you keep it moving because you have to your eyes crawl on me think you're being discreet trying so hard to see what's underneath you keep it moving because you have to you shrug you laugh put the past in the past pretend it's alright when it's really a mess you keep it moving because you have to

move, move, move move the earth with your big machine move the ground underneath our feet move the money up and down the tree move the sands across the beach move the people away from belief move, move, move move the tyrants from their disease move the garbage across the street move the sails in the breeze move the tombs out of reach move the languid as they please move, move, move

All of the people I have loved best in this world Have been the strangest The most flawed The most imperfect. The ones who've made the mistakes Admitted the mistakes Never tried to be perfect Or Who have tried, failed, and started again. The ones that show anger And love And pain And fear And humility. The ones who are brave In ways that the simple can't understand And still have mercy Despite all their tragedy. A nation of broken toys And repaired wounded. The lovers, The fighters, The searchers, The seekers. Those are all the people I have loved best in this world.

it feels like we're living in the decline the air is thick with desperation and panic like everyday could be your last the end is coming by trial by fire by surprise but we all keep going keep going to work every day keep sending in the phone bill keep buying lottery tickets denial really is the best medicine

Shopping in the big box store And everything looks too big and too dirty. How could anyone ever need This many paper towels? And I'm looking at the plastic cutlery And trying to remember which my office mates prefer. Is it the clear? Is it the white? Does any of this trivial shit really matter? And somewhere someone is crying Because she lost someone she cared about. A brother? A friend? A son? He was something to her Even if he's just a punchline in a joke to you. I catch the eye of an elderly man That seems to look at my with a knowing smile. Do I know him? Or is he just creepily friendly? I told my best friend that I thought all old white men were scary But this man seems Almost Nice Like the kind of grandpa type that would welcome you on his lap But not in a gross old man kind of way. I keep shopping. Sniff in the soup aisle. Wipe tears in the frozen foods. Somewhere in a hospital There's a broken girl. Could I have helped her? Could I have fixed her? Could I be her? Ev...