“Hey Hey Baltimore” (Music)
By Amy Moffitt
Response

Hello Baltimore
By Kamika Cooper
(Poetry and digital photography)
Inspiration piece

i’ve heard a lot of bad things about you
heard you set them up and leave them to die
never wanted to be anywhere near you
pressed on the gas and sped right on by

you’ve got a nasty reputation
neighborhoods bathed in surveillance blue
streets overflowing with confrontation
no hope left when the night is through

but i’m going to join you on your journey
i hope you welcome me with open arms
let all your hills and your history claim me
let go of the fears and presumption of harm

prove me wrong with my snobby existence
your harbor is the gateway to my ancestry
i know i will fall in love with you in an instant
hello baltimore, are you there? it’s me

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Whereever You Go There You Are
by Amy Moffitt
music and digital photography
Inspiration piece

Here I Am
by Kamika Cooper
Response

here i am but it’s time to go

long before my welcome has worn out
i have packed my bag and made a plan
i don’t have to question the getaway
mine is a calculated departure
beginning in the mind echoed in the heart
and carried by legs and feet
all moving in unison to a new destination

here i am though it’s time to grow

don’t misunderstand me or my way
i may opt to move far from you
but i will never move away from self
you have seen me persevere because
acceptance is the foundation for survival
the notion of giving up is a facade
there is power and strength in moving on letting go

i am here despite the things i know

staying too long leads to complacency
the challenges of this journey are endless
and it is not always easy to rise to them
but trying to control things i cannot change
threaten to drain and deplete me slowly
there’s always a chance to get it right another way
that’s why i never hesitate when it’s time to go

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Note: All of the art, writing, and music on this site belongs to the person who created it. Copying or republishing anything you see here without express and written permission from the author or artist is strictly prohibited.

Charisse Cecil
Inspiration piece

Amy Moffitt
Response

Choose
(for Charisse)

Every day is a decision.

Tonight, the crickets sing in the bushes,
and I choose to remember you:
dreadlocks flowing and bright face,
smile beaming and that glow you had
even when anxiety tightened
the corners of your shining eyes.

Every day.

Every day since you passed on
I choose to feel, and choose to mourn.
You left before autumn started giving the leaves
back their true, vibrant colors.
You saw past my surface, down deep
where dark and vibrant colors bloom.

I choose to miss you.

Charisse, sometimes I feel like
my whole life has been me bloodying my hands
trying to tear down walls that won’t budge.
You walked through a door in the wall,
a door I’d never noticed,
and showed me the blue sky I’d ignored.

Everyday, I have a decision:
Do I see the blue sky,
0r the brick wall?
Do I choose faith, or fear?
Do I believe in what you showed me,
or do I run away again, and hide?

Every day,
despite myself,
I choose
again
to believe you.

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Note: All of the art, writing, and music on this site belongs to the person who created it. Copying or republishing anything you see here without express and written permission from the author or artist is strictly prohibited.