Strut On Home | Reginald Lockett Makes His Transition

Strut On Home, Then
for Reginald Lockett

don’t mind me here in the garden
of glitter supervision, dish doing and
legal numbers sung in four languages.

strut on home,

only my capillaries ache. the veins
may sprout mushrooms soon, but
the floor mops itself. a great
relief now as one garden pushes
spreading roots and leaves.
the other fades.

strut on home,

it is Spring
filled as usual with big boned boys cutting
their Mamas bellies open for a first breath;
old women pressing Rosebud leaves to their wrinkled lips;
and single malt voiced men with nothing left to say.

________

It's been a few days. I'm glad my daughter, Imani, dragged me out of retirement and into my first American reading in five years. It was lovely!

Then, dear, sweet, kind, talented Reginald Lockett passed away quite suddenly. It made me realize the importance of staying out there. You never know. These days - these things make me a little more crazy about keeping a clean house. My grandmother used to always say, You never now how you'll be returning. I am profoundly aware of this wisdom right now.

And I am very sad. And I have been very sad for a few days.

I'm grateful for Cave Canem bringing him into my awareness. Poet, Al Young, has the most moving tribute on his site here. Please drop by Al Young's site and share these memories with me. Thanks.

More of Reginald Lockett's work can be found here.

Or you could always just check out his books

Random History Lessons

Where The Birds Sing Bass

The Party Crashers Of Paradise








I'll leave you with this lovely poem.

Yes

Reginald Lockett
from The Party Crashers of Paradise

I say yes!
Yes to love yes to you
Yes to me yes to us
Yes to the sun yes to the moon
Yes to the stars yes to trees
Yes to grass yes to rocks
Yes on top of mountains
And hills yes down in valleys
Yes to our minds yes to our hearts
Yes to our souls yes to the heavenly bodies
Yes yes yes the simple yes
Yes yes yes the profound yes the honest yes
The illuminated yes the diaphanous yes
The sanctified yes
Yes yes yes
Yes to the sparkle in your eyes yes when I gaze at you
Yes when I think about you
Yes in our embrace
Yes to the traces of your lipstick on a wineglass
Yes to the fullness and softness of your lips
Yes to the warmth and smoothness of your skin
Yes in the ways you touch me yes
Yes to the father who sired you yes
Yes to the mother who gave birth to you yes
Yes to your ancestors yes yes yes
Yes to the ground you walk on yes
Yes to the air you breathe yes
Yes to the water you drink yes
Yes to the fruit you eat yes
Si si si qui qui qui to the places you have traveled yes
Yes to the sky you fly through yes
Yes to the roads streets and highways you drive on yes
Yes to the oceans you sail across yes
Yes to the Orishas who bless and protect you yes
Say yo-ho on the stages where you dance yes
Hunh! To the thought of you
That yes
Mmmm-mmmmm! To the scent of you
That yes .
Ooooweeee! To your kiss
That yes
Yes to the secrets we whisper at nigh
Yes to the song we sing at dawn
Yes to the walks we take on the bead
I give thanks to the yesness of your e
And the essence of your yesness
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Say yo-ho on the stages where you dance yes
Hunh! To the thought of you
That yes
Mmmm-mmmmm! To the scent of you
That yes
Ooooweeee! To your kiss
That yes
Yes to the secrets we whisper at night
Yes to the song we sing at dawn
Yes to the walks we take on the beach
I give thanks to the yesness of your essence
And the essence of your yesness
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
______________


Yes, thank you, Reginald.