RAINFOREST
by Haki R. Madhubuti
You are forest rain
dense with life green colors
forever pulling the blue of life into you
see you walk and
I would burst rainwater into you
swim in & out of you
opening you like anxious earthquakes
uncontrollable, but beautiful & dangerous.
Get with this woman come
fire frozen beauty,
men cannot sleep around you
your presence demands attention
demands notice
demands touch & motion & communication.
You are runner
swift like warm wind hurricanes
fast like stolen firebirds
& you disrupt the silence in me
make me speak memories long forgotten & unshared
secrets uttered in strange storms,
deep, full sounds reserved for magical lovers.
Listen runner
I’ve shared pain with you,
I have commented on future worlds to you,
I have let you touch the weak & strength of me,
I have tasted the tip of your ripeness &
kissed sweat from your middle.
I have bit into your mouth and
sucked the life-forces from your insides
And I know you. Understand you.
I have shared books and travel and music
and growth with you.
sweet knows honey & I know you.
under salted water tides
& running against polluted earth
I’ve tried to be good to you woman
tried to care beyond words
care beyond distant spaces
beyond sensitive phases & quiet lies
beyond cruel music & false images.
Indeed, you are an original high & dream maker
& true men do not try to limit you.
Listen woman Black
I do not wish to dominate your dreams
or obstruct your vision.
Trust my emotion, feel.
Know that I am near & with you
& will cut the cold of winter winds to reach you.
you are delicate bronze
in spring, summers & special autumns
you are forest rain
dark & runner & hurricane-black
frequently,
I say frequently I bring you
midnight rain.
(Repeat)
Listen woman Black
I do not wish to dominate your dreams
or obstruct your vision.
Trust my emotion, feel.
Know that I am near & with you
& will cut the cold of winter winds to reach you.
you are delicate bronze
in spring, summers & special autumns
you are forest rain
dark & runner & hurricane-black
frequently,
I say frequently I bring you
midnight rain.
Lyrics Submitted by Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge (Luanda, Angola)