Nina

Nina

sang me

through sadness

and the hardest

of times.

her voice, plaintive and strong

her lyrics purposeful 

and true…

“I Think it’s Going to Rain Today”

the poems I’ve written

for her

permeate the decades

on lost and discarded yellowed papers

on scraps and envelopes

and forgotten notebooks.

but every time

i hear her voice

i am reminded of that time

and many others

when healing came through 

the Spirit in song

and Jimmy Webb

spoke through Roberta Flack:

of his “Wild Sweet Love”

and the words of

requiem 820 latham 

and i knew I was not alone

in love

or

in pain.
Linda Tauhid

©11/29/18

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Ntozake

i have been

woke

for some time now…

and i have walked

many roads…

it seems lately

I write to memorialize

to remember,

to look back;

It is my way.

i step into the future

gingerly

hoping for time and success.

while my past 

is full of richness,

the wealth of historical teachers

and historical times.

i am of the ancestors now,

my works will serve to teach

and show

the meaning i have made

of

this life 

and of

these times.

(for playwright Ntozake Shange–rest with the ancestors)

Linda Tauhid
©10/28/18

Autumnal Equinox

the joy of Fall is waiting
bringing its special colors
and coolness
the oppressive heat of summer
declines…
i’d love to visit New England
see the colors in full beauty,
walk the leaf-strewn sidewalks
that we walked
as kids;
picking up the prettiest
specimens
and skipping
the rest of the way
to school.

Linda Tauhid
9/22/18

http:wp.me/s322Py-equinox

Avocados are My Steak

avocados are my steak
romaine lettuce
is my bread.
you might ask
how this juxtaposition
took place
a foodie eating
only vegetables…
the answer is lost
in shedded pounds
and plummeting cholesteral
levels
and a joie de vivre
formerly achieves
by culinary richness.
instead
i play
with quinoa
and salsa verde
with chipoltle
and cayenne
merrily skipping
what i used to jump into
with alacrity.

excuse me, I’m hungry…
i think i’ll have a steak–
i mean
an avocado!

Linda Tauhid

9/22/18

Aretha

we danced out of high school
that summer
into the dormitory
of Northeastern U’s White Hall.
the soundtrack of the summer
was led by “Respect”.
we painted houses in Roxbury–
a student project;
hailing from Simmons and Brandeis and Harvard–
the colleges of Boston
and some from the South;
Dillard & Howard.
a conglomerate of cultures:
the beginnings of Black Power,
SDS and the Weathermen…
turning out a summer of love;
listening to Jimi Hendricks
and the all-pervasive soul offerings
on warm barefoot evenings
on Huntington Ave.
there is no one
like Aretha.
her voice
has surely reached the heavens

the strain and rasp
of a stretching soprano
with a contralto back.
she sang for my time,
for our time–
she crooned and retorted
as we wandered the mazes
of beginnings
to ends…college, marriage
birth and death…
a cycle that has led us to
another time–
a time of turmoil
and reversal;
of treachery
and hope.
and quiet summer nights
unlit by dance and music
or walks on The Fenway.
alone and contemplating
how we got
from there
to here.

Linda Tauhid

9/2/18

Josiah

when i saw your face

i knew what i

had lived

this long for.

your skin

so new to the air

protected by

the inner waters

for so long;

your slumber,

your quiet breathing…

when i held you

i knew that

my purpose

is to love

and heal

and be forgiven

from so long ago

when i held

your father

but did not know

how i

mportant,

how precious,

how sacred

life

truly

is.

Linda Tauhid

6/14/18

Ramadan Night (1439)

the moon of Ramadan

is waning…

soon it will be

beyond sight;

slight

like the skin

of a date stone.

it would be nice

to be in Senegal

where the sky is endless

and the earth

expansive

on a quiet night 

of Africa’s silent prayer

and to partake of

the neglected food

of daytime 

from a shared common

platter–

the hot grease of red oil

staining the eater’s fingers;

the satisfaction 

of 

each grain 

of rice,

each drop

of water,

each sip 

of

hibiscus tea.
Linda Tauhid

©6/5/18