I have gone through so much in the past few months and not only have I physically moved, my blog address has also changed. My new (and soon to be improved blog) is located at AsISpeak.com. I will update this WordPress blog daily with poetry and spoken word. That is my new focus. Thank you so much all who have followed me. I hope to see you at my new address 
I.M.E.
P.S.: I will be reposting some previous posts from this site, so if they look familiar… they are.
Posted by Ivy on March 28, 2013
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/ive-moved/
I hide from the world when life’s not so good. I’m like a bear, and this is my winter.
~ I.M.E.
Posted by Ivy on October 16, 2012
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/my-thought-of-the-day/
The older we get
The more we reminisce
Of the good ol’ days
And the people we miss
Hanging out on the block
Setting the pavement on fire
Or walking back and forth
Until our feet grew tired.
I remember the days
We used to play
Outside until the street lights
Lit up and we said goodnight.
I remember the days
When we played baseball behind our house
No fence and no stand
But fun, yes, we had.
We thought we were so old
Walking around on Linden with our stupid stroll
Smiling at guys as they paid us attention
Then flipping the bird if they dare had a word to mention.
Silly, silly, silly
I was such a silly little girl
13 years old and thinking I ran the world
Walking back and forth to the Ave.
Picking up clothes and buying bags
Buying shirts that didn’t fit
And showing off my little-bits.
I remember those days
When trouble was so far away
The biggest issue was the guy poppin’ a wheelie
And the father who didn’t see
This “little punk” as a cutie.
I remember those days
When the park was our spot
We sat on benches under an old tree
And talked about what we’d do when we turn 16.
I remember those days and how I wished they’d go by
Even though summer was indeed always the best time
I wanted to grow up and be a woman you see
And now this woman is missing those days terribly.
I was raised in the 90′s (I’m a 80′s baby), but no song goes with this poem better than this:
Posted by Ivy on April 12, 2012
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/back-in-the-day/
Life perfect ain’t perfect
If you don’t know what the struggle’s for
Falling down ain’t falling down
If you don’t cry when you hit the floor
It’s called the past cause I’m getting past
And I ain’t nothing like I was before
You ought to see me now
Yes, I was burned but I call it a lesson learnedLesson Learned by Alicia Keys (feat. John Mayer)
I can’t say that I have a favorite song by Alicia Keys. Album after album she has inspired me, and I love every song on each of them. I woke up singing this song today and decided to share it with you! Enjoy
Posted by Ivy on January 21, 2012
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/quote-of-the-day-3/
My father's old copy of the book
Today I found Martin Luther King Jr.’s book Why We Can’t Wait stuffed into an old box in the corner of my brother’s room. The old copy is the first published edition after King’s death. My father borrowed the book from the St. George Public Library, in Staten Island, NY… It never made it back.
My father, James Sr., was eight years old when King was martyred. He remembers his older sister Fran running into the house screaming, with tears streaming down her face. My aunt was a member of the local Black Panther party, and like many black Americans at that time, she, and the rest of my family, revered Dr. King.
Today is his birthday.
I’m not sure if I should light a candle, hold vigil, watch the marathon of Martin Luther King movies and documentaries on television, or sit here and reflect.
With the copy to my right, I decided that in honor of Dr. King I will stop learning about him from biographies, television, and textbooks. I will push aside my Patterson novel for two days and read Why We Can’t Wait tonight and all day tomorrow. The influence and magnitude of what he writes, even in just the introduction, perplexes me. He was brilliant beyond belief.
I’m not saying anything that isn’t widely known… but I thought today, in honor of this great man who helped truly free my people, I need to write something. Anything.
And here I am.
My grandfather was born into the Jim Crow south. My father was chased by Italian boys down the streets of Staten Island because he took the wrong way home. My grandparents had to use “Colored Only” restrooms. My ancestors were lynched, belittled (to say the least), hosed down, and shamed because of the color of their skin.
Picture I took while in DC
Without dwelling on the past, which I can truly say is still affecting us today… In 2012 we are free at last. Some progress still needs to be made but King’s vision has come to pass.
To that – I’d like to thank Dr. King for all he did for my people and this country. Because of him, and the other civil rights leaders, I am here today. I am proud to be from the same lineage that produced the greatness that was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and I am so proud of my people.
God bless and have a wonderful Sunday
Posted by Ivy on January 15, 2012
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/happy-birthday-dr-king/
I seem to be in a Shel Silverstein mood this week. Reasoning be: I’m in an elementary school two out of the seven days in the week and I recently found my old copy of A Light in the Attic at my house.
Here’s yet another poem by Silverstein that moved me today. It’s classic Silverstein, wise and quirky in his own way.
All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin’ in the sun,
Talkin’ bout the things
They woulda-coulda-shoulda done…
But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All ran away and hid
From one little did.
– – From Falling Up
Posted by Ivy on December 20, 2011
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/proverb-poem-of-the-day/
I am lonely
I have nothing left but my tears
I am broken
I’ve fought hard for so many years
I am crying you a river
Waters black and filled with drear
I am in a not-so-good place
Is there anyone out there who will hear?
Posted by Ivy on January 19, 2012
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/down/
Don’t get caught up in no throne. Towers of Babylon rise up and so they shall fall. As it was written before, amen, so it goes on.
Yasmiin Bey
I am not a hip-hop enthusiast, as I said before, I leave that to my brother. I do have every album dropped by rappers Nas and Kanye West, but other than that… my hip-hop knowledge is derived from my brother. With that said, when I appreciate a song (on my own) I think it means that much more.
Brooklyn bred rapper Yasmiin Bey’s (formerly known as Mos Def) new song Niggas In Poorest is a conscientious and thought-provoking remake of Jay Z & Kanye West’s song Niggas in Paris.
I love when you have to look at the lyrics to get the true depth of the song. Maybe it’s the poet in me Niggas In Poorest is definitely not simple music for simple people. Mos Def Yasiin Bey is better than that.
When I first heard the Jay/Yeezy version I thought to myself “Wow, I really wish they didn’t use that word.” To me the song could have done without it. But according to my brother it is supposed to be some kind of revealing and deep song about the treatment of rich black men in Paris compared to how rich black men are treated in America.
Yea… whatever. I love the beat, but he refers to Beyoncé as a b*tch… and my thought process stops there.
I prefer Bey’s version… now this is deep. But truthfully speaking, you can’t really appreciate it fully without first listening to the Jay Z & Kanye version.
Posted by Ivy on January 17, 2012
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/quote-of-the-day-2/
Sometimes I believe God feels my pain. I came home from an extended vacation in Virginia and found a package on my bed from the ministry my parents and I recently joined. In it were a few books and cd’s. I opened one of the books, just to quickly browse through, and found the passage below. It was exactly what I needed today. So here’s a nugget of wisdom that sort of condemned me!
Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum. Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime. Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse. Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery. Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement. Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear. Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions.
From Give it All to Him by Max Lucado.
Posted by Ivy on January 3, 2012
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/proverb-of-the-day-27/
5Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
– Proverbs 3:5-6
Posted by Ivy on December 21, 2011
http://ivannae.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/proverb-of-the-day-26/
Ivy